


Unexpected Attractions

by thilia



Category: Big Time Rush
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friendship/Love, Matchmaking, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-06
Updated: 2012-09-10
Packaged: 2017-11-13 17:09:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/505807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thilia/pseuds/thilia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Camille is a busy girl. Not only does her career seem to be finally taking off and she has tons of auditions to prepare for; she also pretty much runs the Palmwoods and likes to help its residents figure out their every-day problems and complicated love lives. After the end of her rather disastrous relationship with Logan, she's taken on what she likes to call "Project Kogan", which consists of helping Kendall seduce Logan. So this clearly isn't the right time for her to suddenly become obsessed with the new girl at the Palmwoods. Her once simple life becomes even more complicated when she suddenly develops a crush on the last person she ever expected to fall for...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Restricted Work] by [Deiv17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deiv17/pseuds/Deiv17). Log in to view. 



> written for [Big Time Bang](http://bigtimebang.livejournal.com) on LJ. Will post about three chapters a week here... or more :)
> 
>  **Translations:** [Spanish](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1297231/chapters/2692633)

"Hide me!" is the first thing she hears when she's approaching the main entrance of the Palmwoods after coming back from five auditions. _Five_. Camille can't even remember the last time she had that many auditions in a week – let alone in one _day_. Actually, she's not sure she's ever received that many offers in such a short time.

On top of that, she's also managed to finally get an actual role in a TV movie – as Agent Mila Stark – a job she's really proud of. It isn't the main part, of course, but at least she'll have an actual film to add to her still relatively short list of appearances. But ever since she's auditioned for that role and received the part, her phone seems to keep ringing incessantly with more offers for auditions. 

Things are going great for her. Career-wise, at least.

She blinks and looks around, then finally spots Tyler who looks at her with intense desperation; an expression she's seen on his face countless times before, so she immediately knows what this is all about. He takes a deep breath when he's finally standing in front of her. "My mom wants me to– oh! Gotta go!"

She doesn't find out what exactly Tyler's mom wants him to do _this_ time because he's running away and jumping into one of the huge dumpsters with surprising agility while his mother is approaching at a rapid pace, looking thrilled and a little crazy. 

"Have you seen Tyler? We have an audition in half an hour!"

Camille looks around, a pretend clueless expression on her face, shrugs and shakes her head. "Nope. Sorry. I only just got back and I haven't seen him. I'm sure he's around _somewhere_ , though…"

"That's all right, dear – Tyyyler!" the other woman trills, looking left and right before whirling around and going in the opposite direction.

Camille shakes her head and sighs when she watches Tyler's mom hurry off to look elsewhere for her little runaway, and wonders what other cruelty she has in store for her son. Then she walks over to the dumpster and knocks against it a couple of times. "Hey. The coast is clear." 

When Tyler resurfaces, a disgusting stench surrounds him and Camille groans. "You can come out now… and should probably take a bath. No offense but… you reek."

She wrinkles her nose when he climbs out and shakes off a few banana peels and a yogurt cup, and gives her a wide grin. "Thanks, Camille! You're a lifesaver."

"Don't I know it?" she sighs dramatically, giving him a grin. 

She _is_ a lifesaver, though. After so many years at the Palmwoods, fixing everyone's problems, she's not even sure the place could function without her. She was there before the Jennifers, before Tyler, before Guitar Dude, and way before Big Time Rush, and has somehow become the go-to person. 

Speaking of… she is supposed to meet Kendall by the pool in half an hour, which gives her just enough time to take a shower. Something that Tyler should consider doing, too, 'cause even though she has her mouth and nose covered with her hand, he still smells rather strongly.

"Now go take a shower, and don't let your mom catch you," she says to him as she's about to enter the Palmwoods.

"I will! Hey, Camille!"

She looks over her shoulder. "Hmm?"

"How did it go?" Tyler asks, leaning against the edge of the trash can and giving her a wide grin.

She smiles. "Great. It went great."

~°~°~°~°~°~

Getting from the entrance of the Palmwoods to the elevator takes normal people less than a minute; Camille however never manages to get there in less than _twenty_ minutes. The moment she comes through the doors, everyone is on her right away and bombarding her with questions. Sometimes she's honestly not sure what anyone here would do without her.

Everyone needs her help; one of the Jennifers has a mascara crisis, Guitar Dude wants to play her his new song, Tyler still needs to be hidden from his mom; even _Bitters_ has something to complain about, which isn't all that unusual – but usually he doesn't bother _her_ with his problems.

Camille finally has to raise her voice to get them to shut up – but despite her tiredness, she manages to be friendly and helpful. She loves taking care of everyone, but sometimes, it does get a little tiring. She eventually makes her way to the pool without getting ambushed again, flops down on a chair, stretching her legs and leaning back. She's abandoned the idea of taking a shower; there's time for that later. She reaches for her sunglasses, slides them on, and is _just_ about to pop the earphones of her iPod into her ears when a shadow falls over her.

Camille groans.

She's afraid to open her eyes because she has a feeling she knows who this could be. Pretty much everyone has talked to her already, which only leaves…

"Kendall, you're blocking my sun."

She cracks an eye open and sees her suspicion confirmed – it is indeed Kendall.

When in doubt, always assume Big Time Rush.

"Oh, so it's _your_ sun now, huh?" Kendall asks and flops down next to her, looking at her expectantly. She can feel his eyes boring into her, and finally sighs and pushes herself up.

"Okay, fast. The sun will be down soon and I haven't relaxed for even a second today, so… sit and shoot. Preferably in five words or less."

Kendall seems to contemplate that request for a moment, obviously taking it as a challenge, then finally shakes his head. "Not possible, sorry."

He doesn't _look_ sorry, but does move a little, so that she can sunbathe while he's telling her whatever's on his mind. She looks at him expectantly, and raises a brow when something else occurs to her.

"Get me a latte," she says, reaching into her purse and taking out a few coins.

"Wha– hey! I'm not your slave, Camille!" Kendall protests.

Camille glances at him from above her sunglasses and gives him a _look_. "I can see that this is going to be a long and – for me – very tedious conversation. So yes, you're getting me a latte, so I can stay awake and listen to whatever it is your need my help with."

"Who says I need your help?" Kendall asks, opening his hand to catch the coins.

"You always do."

He's back five minutes later, and Camille reaches for her coffee, taking a sip and sighing. Ahh. Perfect.

Then she looks at Kendall again, waiting.

"Okay. Right. Well, basically… it's Logan," Kendall begins, nibbling on his bottom lip. "Logan's been doing all kinds of things to me lately and I don't know what to do about it. He's my best friend, and I'm not sure we're supposed to–"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what?" Camille interrupts him, almost choking on her coffee. "Whoa, wait! You're sleeping with Logan? No, hang on – he's doing things to you? What's that supposed to mean? What kind of things? Is he molesting you? Cause if he is, then–"

Kendall stares at her and his eyes widen a little. "Camille, your voice! I don't want everyone to hear this, and no, of course he's not molesting me! Jesus…"

She slaps a hand over her mouth and looks around sheepishly. "Sorry. But… Kendall! You're sleeping with my ex?"

"Who said anything about sleeping with him?" Kendall asks, still looking around gingerly. "I mean, yeah, I _want_ to get into his pants but sadly, I haven't managed to get there yet. So I wanted to ask if you could help me since… well, since you know everything, and you and Logan did have a sort of relationship for a while, so I thought you might know what kind of things he likes."

Camille tries to process. Kendall wants Logan. Wow.

Why hasn't she seen this coming? Usually, she always knows what's going on, but this is unexpected. She really doesn't spend enough time at the Palmwoods anymore, she decides while she's sipping her latte. Hm.

"You're his best friend; shouldn't you sort of know what he likes?" she asks, finishing her coffee and inspecting her nails.

Kendall sighs. "I know he likes to solve endless math problems and figure stuff out, act like a mad scientist and do experiments, and play pranks on people and dress up in girl- and granny-clothes – but that's not exactly anything I can use, is it? I mean, I could get him a new grey wig, but... that's not exactly a romantic gift, right?"

Camille has to admit that it isn't. "True. I'm not sure I can help you all that much, though. You know how Logan and I were. We didn't do very much except make out and… well, fight. And make up. And then fight again and make up again, and okay, maybe we talked a little from time to time. But it's not like we had an ideal relationship or anything. So I think you should just go up to him and tell him how you feel. Get it out of the way, and if he doesn't want you, then… move on. It's not that hard."

She leans back, satisfied with her advice. Kendall wants Logan… she wonders if the feeling is mutual. It might be. Kendall and Logan have always been close, and how great would it be if they made out in front of her all the time? She wouldn't mind seeing that. Guh.

Then she finds herself thinking about her own relationship with Logan, which was odd and like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Logan wasn't very accessible and committed. At least not all the time. When they spent time together, he seemed incredibly interested and his kisses made her knees weak – but whenever they didn't see each other for a couple of days, Logan's eyes seemed to… well, wander. It felt as if he wanted to be with her, but at the same time, he didn't want to commit because there were so many other beautiful girls out there, and he didn't want to give up his chance for a date with one of them.

So for a long time, it was this back-and-forth and on-and-off thing, and in the end, Logan decided that the decent thing to do would be to let her go. So he did. Which is okay, because while Camille really loved him and enjoyed spending time with him, in the end, she does want someone who only wants her and is _sure_ that he wants her. 

"Hello? Um, are you still listening to me, or…?"

Camille blinks and realizes that she's completely forgotten about Kendall. Oops.

"Sorry – what did you say?"

Kendall sighs. "Just that I can't just tell him because he might freak out and I don't want to lose him as a friend. The way I said it before was a lot more dramatic, but since you _missed_ my little speech… I guess the fact that I can't just go to him and tell him was my main point."

Camille rolls her eyes. "Drama queen."

"Shut it." Kendall grins. "So. Any advice on how to…" He pauses. "Well, on how to woo him?"

"Did you just say–"

"Shut up." Kendall looks mildly embarrassed, which is a look Camille's never seen on him. It's endearing.

"Okay." Camille smirks. "Okay, so you want to _woo_ Logan. But is this about love or sex? Cause it might be important for me to know what kind of relationship I'm trying to make work here."

"Well, preferably both," Kendall says with a smirk, and Camille rolls her eyes and throws her empty coffee cup at him, which he catches expertly. Damn that boy. Is there anything he _can't_ do?

Except ask Logan out on his own. She smirks a little, then sighs. "Okay, so you want love and sex. Good, I guess that is the best option."

She rubs her chin. "All right, look, I don't have any ideas right now. Something like that needs to be thoroughly planned, so I need to know if you're actually committed to this and willing to go through with anything I tell you to do. Because if you're not, then… I've got better things to do."

"No, you don't," Kendall says with a grin, leaning in and pecking her forehead. "But yes, I'm committed. Have you ever seen me _not_ be committed to anything?" He pauses for effect and raises one dark eyebrow before nodding. "Exactly. I'm always committed. I'm in, Camille. I'm _so_ in. I want him and I won't stop until I have him or until he's told me that he's in no way interested in me."

He reaches for his slushy and takes a few sips. "So, what's the first step? Phase One of the Operation – or what are we calling it?"

Camille sighs. "Big Time Kogan?"

Kendall grins. "Big Time Kogan it is. Now, what do I need to do?"

"Well, like I said, I'm going to need to think about this for a while, come up with a plan… but if you don't wanna sit around and do nothing in the meantime, you could start watching him and try to figure out if he likes you back. Don't get too hopeful because he might not be into you – but don't let any failures discourage you right now either. Everything is open at the moment; I guess we'll just have to see how much work we'll need to put into it."

Kendall nods. "Sure. I can do that."

"Good. Then let Project Kogan begin."

Camille smiles at him, then looks around and is about to ask what's new at the Palmwoods – when she sees it.

Or _her_ , rather.

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops; she sits up a little, leans forward and stares.

"Who… is _that_?"

Kendall looks up and squints. "That? Oh, new girl. Arrived today. Gorgeous, likes rock music, is very sassy… and keeps criticizing our music, for some odd reason. Which is _so_ not cool." He frowns, then raises his brows and shrugs. "But she seems all right. You should go say hello."

He nudges her, but Camille doesn't even feel it. She's staring at the girl she's just seen come out of the lobby, and just… gapes. Because fuck, she _is_ gorgeous. Camille literally can't take her eyes off her, and she may even be drooling a little. She licks her lips and rubs her chin, just to make sure there's no drool. There isn't.

The new girl is tall and thin, with curves in all the right places. Her hair is long and black with red streaks; she looks kind of exotic and, yes, a little different and dangerous. Not like all the other girls Camille tends to meet here at the Palmwoods or at her auditions. The new girl is dressed in black and red; the outfit clinging to her body, and Camille shocks herself by imagining what she looks like _underneath_ those clothes.

Then she blushes and forces herself to look away – even for just a moment. When she finally manages to do that, she takes a deep breath. Oh god. What's happening? Her mouth is dry, her panties kind of wet, and she can't stop staring at the new girl.

And just like that, she has one of the most intense crush she's ever had in her life.

And it's a girl crush.

She shakes her head and wonders if this is some kind of bizarre and extremely realistic dream she's in. Kendall seems oblivious to what she's going through, raises his hand and waves. "Lucy! Hey, Lucy! Over here!"

Camille stares at him, her eyes widening when she realizes that the girl is coming over to them, and for the first time in her _life_ , Camille isn't sure what to say. That has _never_ happened before.

"Lucy, this is Camille. Camille, Lucy."

And Camille keeps staring. The girl – Lucy – smiles at her and her lips seem to form the word 'hi'. Camille is aware that both Lucy and Kendall are looking at her oddly, and she finally manages to get a grip on herself and takes a breath, managing a smile. "Hi! Welcome to the Palmwoods."

"Thanks," Lucy says. "Nice to meet you – I've already heard a lot about you and I've only arrived a few hours ago. You seem to be the go-to person around here."

Camille feels her cheeks heat up. "Oh... I don't know about that. I guess everyone just knows me because I've been here for a while."

Kendall snorts. "Please – you enjoy mothering everyone and being the center of attention."

She turns to glare at him. "No, I don't," she murmurs, and Kendall cocks an eyebrow, not looking particularly convinced.

He turns back to Lucy. "Are you still claiming our music is _cute_?"

Lucy just smiles, making Kendall pout and Camille smirk. She likes this girl. She likes her _a lot_. 

"Right. I should go unpack some more boxes," Lucy finally sighs. "I can barely get into my room, so... I'll see you guys later."

She waves and starts to walk away, and Camille realizes that she probably hasn't made a very good impression. Which, for some reason, bugs her. She doesn't really care whether people love or hate her, but in this case, she desperately wants to be liked. She clears her throat. "Hey, Lucy? If you need help unpacking your stuff, just let me know, all right?"

Lucy stops and turns her head, and Camille blinks as she's watching that fiery black-red hair fly over her shoulder, almost like in slow motion. She's distracted for a moment, but then doesn't miss the other girl's smile and nod before she walks away. 

Camille swallows hard and falls back against her chair, staring up at the changing colors of the sky.

"I can't believe she still claims our music is _cute_ ," Kendall mutters, seeming really offended by that statement and lost in his thoughts. Then he seems to remember Camille's presence and pokes her. "Okay, what the hell was _that_?"

Camille feels her cheeks heating up again. "What the hell was what, exactly?"

"That. Just now. You, and Lucy, and you looking at Lucy like want to eat her up or something."

Camille sighs, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I don't want to 'eat her up'. Honestly, Kendall. Don't be ridiculous."

"Hey – I know what I just saw. You like her, don't you?" 

She wants to punch the stupid smirk off his face. But obviously he's not entirely wrong and she can't hit him without a reason, can she? Well, she's done it before, but that was way before they became friends. Now she's supposed to help him with his Logan situation – which is what they should be focusing on anyway, not some hot new girl who will be gone in a few days anyway. 

Most people never last for more than a couple of weeks at the Palmwoods, and Camille is sure – and sad – that Lucy probably won't be any different. Most of them either lose interest in whatever they've come here to do, whether it's acting, singing or modeling, others don't get enough jobs and are basically deported back home by their parents after their trial period ends. She's not sure which case will be true for Lucy, but Camille just has a feeling that she won't be here for long. 

Unfortunately – because she seems to fit right in.

"Camille?"

"I don't like her," she says automatically, then adds, "I mean, I like her, sure. She seems cool. But I don't _like_ her, so stop smirking that way."

"What way?" Kendall asks innocently. 

" _That_ way. Like some pervert who's hoping to get to see some girl-on-girl action, which is _not_ going to happen, okay? So... go away and focus on Logan."

She doesn't know why she's so snappy all of a sudden; maybe exhaustion is just finally getting the best of her and she should retire to her room. Kendall's eyeing her, and she reaches over to brush his hair back. "I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just tired."

"Sure you are," he says, still giving her that infuriating grin, his dimples on full display. "And you're not at all thinking about some cute black-and-red-haired beauty with an attitude and what it would be like to..." 

He trails off and raises an eyebrow suggestively, giving her a slow smile. 

"Oh my god," Camille groans, her cheeks now bright red because Kendall can apparently see right through her, and she wonders whether her attraction was obvious to Lucy too. She hopes not. 

"Kendall, _please_."

"You love me," Kendall laughs, and gets to his feet. "But very well – if you want to be left alone, then I will go check on the boys now, and will hopefully get the chance to partake in some Logan ogling. Feel free to join me later. And Camille? Thank you. I really appreciate that you're willing to help me. And hey – maybe I can return the favor and help you get into Lucy's panties."

He grins and manages to get back to the lobby before she can say anything else or throw her phone at him. She watches him and shakes his head, then slides down in her chair and watches the sun as it disappears behind the walls surrounding the Palmwoods. 

Maybe Kendall does have a point. 

He's good at plans in general; maybe she _should_ let him help her. But not before she's sure she actually wants Lucy. She's never had a crush on a girl before and she doesn't want to change everything and jump into this on a whim before she's even sure she knows what it means and how she feels about it. 

After all, it might just be platonic admiration or a passing infatuation.


	2. Chapter 2

It isn't. 

An infatuation, maybe, and definitely admiration, but not passing.

Even though two days is probably not long enough to determine whether it will pass or not. She should definitely give it another week before she comes to the conclusion that she definitely has a crush on Lucy.

Camille sighs.

This would all be much easier if she could actually hang out with Lucy – figure out if she really has a crush on her, if Lucy maybe feels the same way, whether they could be compatible... It's hard to determine those things when she has to watch her from afar. 

Which she doesn't _have_ to. She's well aware of that, but for some reason – and for the first time ever – Camille just doesn't know how to approach the other girl. They hung out together with the boys the other day, but have never been alone together. She literally can't think of a thing to say to her. And until she knows what to talk to her about, she's staying faaar, far away from her. 

A glance at her watch tells her it's time to get ready for her next audition. She gets up from the couch in the lobby she's been sitting on, slings her purse over her shoulder… and runs straight into someone. 

Someone with really nice boobs. 

She blinks and tears her eyes off the other girl's cleavage, and isn't surprised to come face to face with Lucy. She feels her cheeks heat up and swallows hard. "Oh, sorry! I didn't look where I was going and… I'm sorry."

Lucy smiles. "It's fine; don't worry about it."

Camille lets out a breath of relief; the last thing she needs right now is for Lucy to hate her or something. She nibbles her lip and gives the other girl a tiny smile, still at a loss about what to say. 

"So, where are you going in such a hurry?" Lucy finally asks, sliding her hands into her pockets and raising a brow. She tosses her hair over her shoulder, and Camille has to swallow hard and stop herself from reaching over and running her fingers through it. 

"Audition," she manages, wondering if it's too soon for Lucy to think of her as a mute. Because she hasn't managed to get out two coherent sentences since meeting the other girl. It's like her entire vocabulary is erased whenever Lucy's around. It's frustrating; especially for an aspiring young actress who's usually _never_ at a loss for words.

"Oh, great. Good luck. Anything cool?" Lucy seems genuinely interested, and Camille's stomach flips. 

She shrugs. "Just some TV movie. I don't think my chances are very high, but I can't get the role if I don't try, right?"

That was good. An actual _sentence_. She's making progress. 

Lucy agrees. "Why do you think you won't get it, though? I've heard a lot about you and everyone's saying you're extremely talented."

Camille flushes again. "They said that? Aww…" She takes a breath and smiles a little, then gives a one-shouldered shrug. "I don't know. I guess after as many rejections as I've received, I have more of a realistic than optimistic feeling about most projects. But we'll see."

"We will," Lucy says with a smile. "Let me know how it goes, all right? I'll cross my fingers for you."

She winks – actually _winks_ – and walks away. Camille stares after her, and for a moment forgets all about her audition and just tries to focus on breathing and not drooling. 

She jumps when she suddenly feels warm breath on her shoulder, and whirls around, blinking at Logan. "What are you _doing_?"

She rubs her cheek, feeling it get warm under her hand, and wonders why she suddenly feels so guilty. It's not like she's still in love with Logan and needs to protect his feelings – he's moved on a while ago, has been on several dates since their break-up, so why does she suddenly feel so weird?

Logan raises his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just saw you standing there, looking kind of lost, so I thought I'd come poke you."

Camille takes a breath, somewhat relieved that Logan has clearly not seen her talking to Lucy. Why that matters, she isn't sure. "Well… thanks," she mutters. "And I have to go."

She makes to walk past him, and frowns when Logan follows her. "What?"

"I need to talk to you. Kendall's acting _really_ weird and I don't know what's wrong with him."

Camille raises an eyebrow. "And why would I know what's wrong with him?"

Logan shrugs. "You know everything? Come on, Camille – what's going on? Is he seeing someone? Is that why he's acting so weird?"

Camille stops when she reaches the entrance of the Palmwoods and turns to face him. "Logan… I'm on my way to an important audition, so can this wait until later? _Please_ , I'm late already."

Logan shrugs. "Sure. What kind of audition?"

"TV movie," she answers as she starts walking again, leaving her ex behind. "Wish me luck?"

She doesn't hear his reply as she jumps into the first cab she finds, and drives away.

~°~°~°~°~°~

When she gets back after the audition that, despite the fact that she was quite distracted, went pretty well, she manages to make her way to the elevator without getting bothered by anyone. She closes her eyes and leans back as she makes her way upstairs, only opening them when she hears the 'ding' that announces that she's arrived on her floor. 

When she opens her eyes, she wonders for a moment if she's fallen asleep because Lucy's standing there, looking unbelievably beautiful. Camille sighs softly, then realizes that it's _not_ a dream because Lucy's giving her an amused grin, and Camille feels the now familiar flush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks.

"Hi," she breathes, making her way past Lucy while the other girl gets into the elevator. She tries to just walk away, but Lucy grabs her wrist.

"Hey. I was wondering if you'd like to hang out tonight. I don't really know that many people here, and if you have no plans…"

"Yes," Camille says immediately, not even thinking about it. "Yes, definitely. When do you want me to come over?"

She flushes. "Unless you want to come over to my place – or go out. That would be fine too."

Lucy smiles. "Really? Great! And I don't know… what can you do around here?"

Camille has to think for a moment and finally shrugs. "Not much. We could hang out in the lobby or by the pool, but Bitters is a pain in the ass, so maybe we should stick to one of our apartments."

Why is she blushing _again_? It's not as if she's just suggested a night of passionate love-making. 

Not explicitly anyway.

"Okay, sure. I'd like to escape the Big Time Rush boys anyway – they've been bugging me all day, and I need a break." Lucy smiles. "Anyway – I'm not done unpacking and my already pretty small apartment is kind of crowded and messy right now, so if you wouldn't mind hanging out at your place…"

She trails off and Camille nods. "Sure, absolutely no problem. I'm in apartment 4J, so you can just come over whenever you're ready."

"Sweet." Lucy smiles. "See you around eight then."

"Eight," Camille says dumbly, then stares at her until she disappears from view as the elevator doors close. She leans forward, face pressed against the metal doors of the elevator and groans, not sure if this is a good idea or not. 

That's how Logan finds her a couple of minutes later. "Camille? Everything all right with you? Dude, Kendall's not the only one who's acting weird. Maybe it's some sort of virus…"

He looks worried for a moment and Camille rolls her eyes. "There is no virus," she sighs, and makes her way to the door of her apartment. She unlocks it and goes inside, leaving the door open in case Logan wants to follow. He does, clearly very intent on talking about Kendall's weirdness. 

"So… do you have some time for me now?"

Camille walks into the kitchen and pours herself a glass of water, which she drinks quickly. Then she turns to face Logan and nods. "Sure. Spill."

Logan then tells her about Kendall being very odd, giving him goofy smiles, staring at him all the time, and being especially affectionate. Camille tries not to face-palm; Kendall has obviously never heard of subtlety and has taken her advice a little too seriously. 

"Do you think he's seeing someone?" Logan asks finally, biting his lip. 

Camille stares at him in confusion. How Logan jumped from Kendall being affectionate with _him_ to him possibly seeing someone else, she's not sure. But she has no time for a long discussion about Logan's logic, so she just shakes her head. 

"He's not seeing anyone. I do know why he's acting… differently, but I promised not to tell anyone. But hey – you're the genius here. Figure it out yourself. And now I need to ask you to leave – I need a shower. Desperately."

Logan frowns in confusion but lets her gently shove him out the door, muttering to himself.

~°~°~°~°~°~

At ten to eight, Camille is ready. She's showered, has put on some makeup, cleaned up the living room and her own room, and then spent ages in front of her closet, trying to figure out what to wear. She's changed about ten times, always either feeling over- or underdressed. But finally, she's found an outfit that works and isn't too fancy for a night in with a friend.

Because that's what her hang out session with Lucy is – for now. 

She's taken out some snacks and drinks, as well as some movies they could watch. She's about to go over her mental checklist again when there's a knock on the door, and her heard starts racing. She takes one final look around, then opens the door…

…and sees Kendall. 

"What _now_?" she groans, pushing her curls back and looking at him exasperatedly.

Kendall's bushy brows shoot up. "I'm happy to see you too, Camille! How are you doing? How was your day?"

He raises one brow, then eyes her again. "Wait – do you have a date?"

Before she can answer the question, Lucy arrives, and Camille wants to die – or kill Kendall. Probably the latter. Or both. That boy has the worst timing in the world. 

And now he's looking between Camille and Lucy and giving Camille a smug, knowing smirk, which Camille wants to slap off his face. God _damn_ that boy. 

"Sorry, I'm early," Lucy says then, glancing between Camille and Kendall. "I can wait."

Camille shakes her head. "No, no need for that. Kendall was just leaving – right, Kendall?"

She gives him a _look_ , and Kendall smirks. "Actually," he says cheerfully, "I was thinking I could stay. What were you gonna do?"

Lucy shrugs. "Watch a movie and talk girl stuff, I guess."

"You are _not_ staying," Camille insists, but the more she scowls and tries to get rid of him, the more determined Kendall seems to actually stay and ruin their night. 

"Sounds _fabulous_ ," he says, clapping excitedly. "Let's talk makeup and boys, shall we?"

Lucy raises a brow at him but shrugs, clearly okay with the suggestion, and Camille wants to cry. Maybe Lucy _wants_ him to stay now, and if she kicks him out, she'll be the bad guy, and she so doesn't _want_ to be the bad guy. 

She looks at Kendall pleadingly, and he grins. "I won't stay all night," he promises as he pushes past her and goes inside, making himself at home. Camille looks desperate, and gives Lucy an apologetic shrug before letting her in as well. 

The evening is already not going the way she's planned.


	3. Chapter 3

The only thing she can think about during the first five minutes of the evening is that she wants to horribly murder Kendall – and make it painful. He's dominating the conversation and being the center of attention; and Lucy seems to only look at him. Camille is pissed. 

But after a while, she relaxes and ends up being kind of glad that Kendall's there, because he's a definite ice breaker, and after a few minutes, slowly includes her in the conversation, making it easy for her to find something to say. 

They tell Lucy all about the Palmwoods and its inhabitants, as well as other important stuff you have to know when you're an aspiring celebrity in Los Angeles. Lucy seems interested in everything she hears and is no longer just looking at Kendall.

Camille finds out a lot about Lucy. She's moved here on her own to make it in Hollywood as a rock singer – which is not all that surprising, given her cool exterior. She has a brother and her parents are kind of strict, but it's obvious that she loves them. She opts for chips and breadsticks rather than the carrot sticks, paprika strips and various dips that Camille has prepared, which is good to know for the future. 

After about an hour, Kendall finally gets up and announces he has to leave, which Camille is eternally grateful for. Even though having him here has turned out to not be the worst thing in the world, she also wants to spend some time alone with Lucy. How else is she supposed to figure out how she feels about the other girl? 

She leads Kendall to the door. 

"Good luck," he murmurs in a hushed voice, giving her a smirk. 

"Smart-ass," she hisses, and rolls her eyes at him as she closes the door in his face. She can hear him laughing on the other side and can't help smiling a little as she walks back into the living room where Lucy's waiting for her. 

"So," Camille says as she sits down next to the other girl – not too close but not on the other side of the couch either. 

"So," Lucy says back, giving her a smile. "Alone at last."

Camille lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched giggle, and clears her throat. "Yeah," she manages. "I'm sorry about that – I so did _not_ invite him, but Kendall has a way of… well, getting his way."

"Tell me about it." Lucy grins, and reaches for her glass, sipping some Coke. "How long have you two been dating?"

Camille's eyes widen and she almost chokes on her own drink. " _What?_ "

Lucy frowns. "I'm sorry – I just assumed… You guys seem to hang out a lot, so I just figured… You're not a couple?"

Camille shakes her head a little too vehemently. "No, no, no, we're not dating at all. We're just friends. Just… friends. Yeah."

Lucy smiles at that. "Good," she says softly, and Camille bites her lip, wondering what that's supposed to mean. Is Lucy glad Kendall's single? Does she want him?

That thought hasn't even occurred to her before, and she tries to not look too disappointed as she processes that possibility. It isn't impossible, of course. Kendall is cute – everyone wants him. 

She bites her lip and wonders if Lucy is one of those people. 

"Are _you_ dating anyone?" she hears herself asking, and hopes she doesn't sound too interested. 

Lucy's brows shoot up and she shakes her head, laughing. "Nope. I'm not dating anyone for a while. Bad break-up," she adds, and Camille's heart sinks. 

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Lucy shrugs. "I'm just enjoying being single right now, you know?"

"Sure," Camille says, giving her a little smile. As if trying to flirt with a girl – something she's never done before – isn't hard enough already, Lucy now also doesn't _want_ to date anyone and be flirted with. 

Brilliant. That's just her luck, honestly. 

"But enough about me," Lucy says then, leaning forward, and Camille is again struck by how beautiful she is. "Tell me more about you."

Camille blinks and shrugs. "I'm not sure there is all that much to know about me," she admits, smiling a little. "I've been here for ages, planning on becoming an actress, but so far I haven't had much success. I've been in a few ads and had a couple of minor TV roles, and now one _bigger_ TV role, but I'm still waiting for my big breakthrough to happen."

She thinks, not sure what else to tell Lucy. "I'm single," she adds softly, "but I was with Logan for a while. You know Logan?"

Lucy thinks. "Short, cute, brown hair, kind of geeky? Yeah, I've met him"

Camille nods. "That's him. It didn't work out in the end, so now I'm single too."

Lucy smiles. "Well, I'm sure you'll have no problems finding someone new, if that's what you want. I mean, you're gorgeous."

"I am?" Camille looks stunned and tries not to get her hopes up. This doesn't mean anything. Girls can find girls attractive without wanting to get into their panties. Lucy's statement is probably completely platonic. Unfortunately. 

"Well, yeah. I'm insanely jealous of your hair," Lucy says, sighing heavily. "Never been able to pull off curls."

Camille laughs. "And I've always wanted straight hair, but I guess we're stuck with what we have."

"We are!" Lucy agrees, and leans back. 

There is silence for a moment before Camille reaches for the DVDs on the table. "I picked out a few movies if you'd like to watch one – I didn't know what you like, so I just chose one of each genre…"

"Sure," Lucy says, inspecting the DVDs. "I'm not picky, so whatever you'd like to watch is fine with me."

They manage to agree on a film, and after popping the DVD into the player, Camille flops down next to Lucy. As they watch the movie, Camille is very aware of Lucy next to her. She has a hard time keeping her eyes on the screen, even though they're watching one of her favorites. But Lucy smells great and her laugh is adorable, and Camille just wants to kiss her. 

But not tonight. Maybe not ever. 

She sighs heavily at that realization. 

Lucy stays till midnight, and by that time, Camille doesn't feel quite as hopeless as before. Because even if they don't work out as a couple, she's sure she's gained a great new friend, and that's worth something too. Since Jo left, she hasn't really connected to anyone. The Jennifers are fine to hang out with every once in a while, but they're kind of cliquey and exclusive and will never think of her as one of them. 

But with Lucy, it's different. They've talked some more and realized they have a lot in common, and she already feels a stronger connection to Lucy than she's even felt with Jo. So if there's really no hope for them as lovers or whatever, she'll gladly take her as a new friend. 

She goes to bed that night, feeling a weird mix of emotions, but falls asleep instantly, dreaming of Lucy. 

And Kendall, for some reason.

Huh.

~°~°~°~°~°~

The next morning, she's thrown out of bed rather abruptly when there's a loud knock on her door. She groans, rolls out of bed and shuffles her way to the front door, glaring when it's Kendall. That boy seems to be _everywhere_ lately.

"Oh god," he laughs. "Did I wake you up? It's noon, dude. Even _I_ am up, so I figured you had to be too."

He wiggles his brows. "Long night?"

He winks, and Camille wants to punch him. Instead, she grunts, turns around and goes into the kitchen to make some coffee, leaving the door open. If Kendall's determined to come in, he's gonna find a way either way, so she might as well _let_ him in right away. 

Five minutes later, she has her coffee and sips it, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. _Now_ she can deal with Kendall. 

"So, what did you two get up to after I left?" Kendall's smirk is wide and knowing. 

Camille rolls her eyes. "We talked a little, watched a movie, then she left and I went to bed."

Kendall's face falls. "That's all? Dude. I thought you were going to jump her or something. This is a really boring turnout. I was expecting juicy details about your passionate night together."

Camille shrugs. "What can I say? It's what happened. And why exactly would you assume I'd want to jump her?"

Kendall raises a brow and gives her a 'really?' look. "Because you want her."

"Do I?" Camille shrugs. "How do you know? I'm not even sure if I want her."

Kendall looks uncertain for a second, but then huffs. "You totally do. I'm never wrong about that sort of thing."

Camille smiles and shakes her head. "Either way, I'm still mad at you for last night."

"You're not," Kendall says simply, getting up and pouring himself some coffee as well. "You're glad I stayed because you get all blushy and incoherent around Lucy. So you were glad I was there to get you two talking. You would've been lost without me."

He nods and gives her a dimply smile. Camille hates that he's always right.

"Logan thinks you're acting odd," she says then, changing the subject because she doesn't feel like discussing her love woes with Kendall right now. Maybe later. 

Kendall blinks. "Say what now?"

"Yeah. He thinks you're looking at him weirdly, giving him those huge-assed smiles and touching him all the time. So clearly, he now he thinks you're seeing someone."

Kendall frowns. "How does that even make sense?"

Camille shrugs. "I have no clue. It's a weird conclusion, but that's Logan for you. He's clearly even more oblivious than you are. But anyway… when I told you to find out if Logan's interested in you, I didn't mean you should be that _obvious_ about it. Do I have to do everything myself?"

Kendall sighs. "I wasn't being obvious. I just… smiled at him and patted his back occasionally – it's not like I reached between his legs and fondled his balls inappropriately." 

He pauses. "Even though that sounds like a nice idea."

"Don't," Camille says warningly; she wouldn't put it past Kendall to do just that. She sips some more coffee and brushes her hair behind her shoulders. "So, have you figured out if he likes you yet?"

Kendall looks clueless. "I have no idea, Camille. He thinks I'm dating someone, so what the hell am I supposed to think of that?"

Camille shrugs. "Maybe he's jealous. He did seem kind of worried about you dating someone else, so maybe he does return your feelings. But I can't be sure; maybe he's just afraid of losing you as a friend. So maybe just… take a step back and see how he takes that. Maybe he'll be upset when you _don't_ touch him anymore. But then, we'd still only know that he's jealous. He could just be jealous as a friend, you know?"

She sighs. "Why did you even ask _me_ for help with this? It's not like I know anything about relationships. Clearly."

She scoffs and rubs the back of her neck, staring into her coffee cup. 

"Well, you still know a whole lot more than James and Carlos," Kendall points out, shrugging. "And hey, maybe we can help _each other_ with this. Maybe I can tell you how to get into Lucy's panties and you'll tell me how to get into Logan's boxers. Deal?"

Camille knows she should probably be scared of the kind of advice Kendall might have to offer, but it's not like she's getting far on her own, so…

"Oh, what the hell. Deal," she says, holding out her hand. 

Kendall looks pleased and shakes it.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone wants Lucy. 

That's what Camille realizes in the next week when Carlos and James go out of their way to win Lucy's heart. Camille watches them, half in horror, half in amusement, and is relieved when Lucy doesn't seem interested in either of them. 

It even seems to Camille like Kendall wants to impress her too, but he's promised her he's just trying to prove to her that Big Time Rush's music is _not_ cute, and swears that he was totally making Logan jealous with whatever he was doing. 

Camille doesn't have the heart to tell him that Logan doesn't even seem to notice. Besides, she's too busy worrying about the fact that Lucy seems to like Kendall a little more than James and Carlos. 

She tries to tell herself that she's overreacting or seeing things, but more than once she's noticed Lucy eyeing Kendall appreciatively, and she doesn't like that. At all. In fact, she's pretty damn jealous. Of course it's possible that she's misinterpreting the situation, but with her luck lately, she's pretty sure that she's not. 

It's a small comfort that Kendall at least seems to have no real interest in her, considering he's still hung up on Logan. 

While her love life remains unchanged, her friendship with Lucy is blossoming and they spend more and more time together. They get along really great, and sometimes, Camille even manages to push her feelings for the other girl into the background and can fully focus on just being her friend. 

Mostly.

She also spends a lot of time with Kendall, and they don't even talk about their respective crushes all the time. She finds that Kendall is actually really fun to hang out with, and after their scheming sessions, they often end up spending the rest of the evening together, watching a movie or just goofing off.

~°~°~°~°~°~

They're watching Ice Princess one night – on Kendall's request, which, needless to say, surprised Camille a little – when Kendall reaches for the remote control and pauses the movie. Camille eyes him, raising a brow when she sees that look on Kendall's face; the look that suggests that he's about to make a huge announcement. 

She sits up, figuring that he's finally made some progress on Logan that he hasn't told her about yet. Instead, he says, "I signed us up for a figure-skating competition."

Camille blinks and notes the flush on his cheeks when she stares at him. "What?"

"Don't make fun of me, okay? This is already embarrassing enough on its own." He hides his face in his hands, and Camille snorts. 

"Awww, don't be embarrassed," she says, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling him. "We all have a little ice princess in ourselves… I guess."

She looks at him curiously then, waiting for an explanation. Kendall is silent for a few seconds as he waits for the blush to disappear, but then he explains that years ago, he's sworn to himself that he would prove to the world – and two people he knew at school, in particular – that hockey players are just as graceful on the ice as actual _skaters_ are, and that he desperately needs her help for this. 

Camille doesn't have the heart to say no – and she has to admit that she's kind of touched that Kendall is asking _her_ for this. 

"Of course I'll help you," she concludes. "I haven't skated in a couple years, but I'm sure we can both get into it if we try. We might not win the competition either, but I should be able to teach you some moves. Besides – I get to dress up in a tiny, sparkly little outfit, and when have I ever said no to _that_?"

Kendall groans. "Please. _Don't_ remind me of the outfits. I'm going to look hideous, but I really need to do this, so I guess I'll have to get over my fear of all things sparkly."

Camille smirks. "Looks like it."

Kendall licks his lips and slips an arm around her shoulder, playing with a stray curl. "Don't tell the others, all right? Don't tell anyone. This is important. I'm breaking a code by doing this, so this has to be a secret."

Camille sighs; she's familiar with the boys' codes. "Fine, no problem. When do we start?"

"Day after tomorrow," Kendall says, looking kind of terrified. 

Amused, Camille shakes her head, and as they watch the rest of the movie, she can't stop herself from pointing out how lovely Kendall would look in those adorable little costumes.

~°~°~°~°~°~

That morning, Kendall picks her up and they leave the Palmwoods to go to the ice rink. There, they put on their skates, and then get onto the ice, skating a few laps to warm up. Then, Camille is faced with the daunting task of teaching Kendall how to be graceful. How she's going to succeed, she'll never know because Kendall moves about as elegantly as an antelope with a limp. 

When she watches him try one of the spirals she's trying to teach him, she's reminded of that one scene in Bambi when Thumper takes him onto the ice for the first time, and bursts into a giggle fit, which Kendall does _not_ appreciate. 

She pets him and assures him that she's not laughing at him.

She's still smirking as she steps back to let him try again. 

Kendall is great on the ice – there's no doubt about that. He can skate like a pro, is fast and flexible. What he has problems with are the dance-parts, his posture and his facial expressions. He looks like he's trying too hard when he spins and jumps, and Camille realizes that this is going to take a lot more time and work than she initially expected. 

At the end of the day, however, she's managed to teach him a few things, and they go back to the Palmwoods, both of them satisfied with the progress they've made. 

She's barely even closed the door of her apartment after saying goodbye to Kendall when he's back – and freaking out. 

"Logan knows!"

Camille blinks. "Knows… that you want him?"

"No," Kendall sighs. "That we're skating!"

Camille raises a brow. "And how would he know about this?"

Kendall shrugs. "I don't know. Did you tell him about us?"

Camille frowns. "No, of course not! I promised I wouldn't tell him."

Kendall sighs. "I think he knows, though… He was acting really odd when I came home; he was actually _waiting_ for me and seemed very… suspicious, for some reason; wanted to know where I was, who I was with, and stuff."

Camille frowns and shrugs. "I don't think he knows we were skating. And why don't you just tell him you've been hanging out with me? You don't have to tell him what we were doing; we've been hanging out all the time together lately anyway, so…"

Kendall sighs. "I can't do that. I mean, I could, but… I don't want him to spy on us, you know? Maybe it'll blow over if I spend some time with him. I'll see."

~°~°~°~°~°~

The next time they come back from their secret figure-skating practice, it becomes obvious that Logan does know something. As they enter the Palmwoods, they see two tree hats in the bushes, and before Camille can say anything, they're in the janitor's supply closet. 

Camille tries to reason with Kendall _again_ , but he absolutely refuses to tell Logan anything because of all their stupid little codes. She saves him – or them – from being found out by dressing up as a janitor. 

The time after that, they leave her apartment and run into Lucy who looks furious because they're apparently dating behind Logan's back. While Kendall explains what's going on, Camille watches Lucy and wonders if she's only upset because they're apparently cheating on Logan, or because she's actually a little jealous. But when Lucy finds out about the figure-skating, she doesn't seem upset at all anymore, and Camille sighs. 

While Kendall's practicing pirouettes on the ice after they've managed to sneak past Logan in the vending machine the next time, Camille is sitting on a pillow on the ice, thinking. It's now more than clear to her that Lucy is definitely not interested in her. And for some reason, resigning herself to only being her friend isn't as hard as she thought it would be. 

Sure, she'll still think about kissing Lucy whenever they're together, but maybe she'll manage to get over her soon. She could hope.

"Did you see that?" Kendall exclaims suddenly, and she looks up, feeling a little guilty for not paying more attention to him. They're going through immense lengths to keep this whole figure-skating thing a secret and she's not even completely dedicated to it. And the competition is tonight – it's really time for her to forget about her troubled love life and focus on the task at hand.

"No – show me again?"

She gets up and watches Kendall, giving him a wide smile when she sees him actually perfect one of the pirouettes for the first time. "That was _great_!" she cheers, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. "You're doing a great job, honestly. I'm so proud of you. You've improved immensely."

She grins up at him, and he grins back. "Thank you, thank you. Did you have any doubts about my figure-skating skills?"

Camille snorts and lets go of him. "Actually, yes, but you've proven me wrong again! I'm now convinced that there's absolutely nothing you can't do."

She smiles, then remembers something. "Oh! I got our costumes, by the way!"

Kendall's face falls, and she laughs. "Oh come on, they're not that bad. Let's go back to the changing rooms and you can try yours on."

Kendall mutters something under his breath, but Camille ignores him and thrusts the outfit into his hand, watching him disappear in one of the changing rooms. She waits patiently, inspecting her nails. 

"I look terrible!" he exclaims from behind the door after some grunting. "I won't wear this – I look ridiculous."

Camille rolls her eyes. "Why don't you let me be the judge of that? Come out."

She gets up and reaches to open the door without waiting for Kendall's okay, and smirks widely when she sees him. Kendall looks less than pleased about her choice of costume and folds his arms over his chest. "It's way too tight – and purple, Camille? Really? Who ever said anything about purple?"

Camille rolls her eyes. "It fits the song, so shut up. Besides – purple is definitely your color. You look adorable!"

Kendall gives her an annoyed look, then turns around to look into the mirror again, and she watches him, noticing how snug the outfit really is. But in a good way – it shows off Kendall's admittedly great body, so…

"You'll get over it. Besides, the event is tonight, so this is what we're wearing, whether you want to or not. Do you want to see mine?"

Kendall sighs heavily. "Sure. Maybe I'll feel better when you're wearing something equally ridiculous."

He stomps out of the changing room to make room for her, and Camille rolls her eyes before closing the door behind her. She changes quickly and then comes out in her own outfit. It matches Kendall's – purple and sparkly, just like his, with a slightly transparent little skirt and skin-colored tights.

Kendall's tugging on the sleeves of his outfit, but when he hears her, he looks up and his eyes widen a little. He seems speechless for a second or two, then swallows hard. "Wow. You look amazing."

Camille isn't sure what she's expected but his statement makes her blush, and she looks down at the outfit, shrugging. "I don't know about _that_ , but at least it fits and matches yours, right?"

She glances up again, and Kendall shrugs, sighing heavily. "I guess. I guess I can wear it once."

He chews on his lip and stands up, reaching for her hand. "Want to try the whole thing in our outfits, with music and everything?"

Camille smiles, squeezing his hand. "It would be my pleasure."

They try their routine three times; and their final rehearsal goes perfectly. Sure, it isn't flawless, but Kendall is doing his best, Camille is doing _her_ best, and in the end, it doesn't look half-bad. They're good to go. It's not like they have any practice-time left anyway.

They get a call from Lucy as they make their way back to the Palmwoods – something about an axe-wielding maniac? Camille barely has the time to figure out that she's talking about Logan when Kendall's already pulling her towards the stairs. She groans, and can't _wait_ for this whole thing to be over.

~°~°~°~°~°~

Two hours later, they go back to the rink for their competition.

But when they get there, Lucy's there, Logan's there with an axe-like guitar, and James and Carlos are there as well. Camille lets out a breath, hoping that Kendall _finally_ tells them. And after claiming they're in love, he finally does admit that they're figure-skating, and finds out that his friends are okay with it and support him, despite the fact that he's broken a code. 

Camille rolls her eyes as they go inside; all that sneaking around and hiding for nothing…

They're both nervous before their performance, but Camille manages to keep Kendall from freaking out by reminding him of how great their final rehearsal had been. And when they get on the ice, she's pretty sure that they'll be able to repeat that performance. 

She's wrong about _that_ , but after her jaw and arm have healed two weeks later, she doesn't feel quite as bad about the whole thing anymore. She only knows that she's _never_ going to figure-skate with Kendall again.


	5. Chapter 5

Two more weeks pass, and things go back to normal. Or – as normal as things at the Palmwoods _ever_ are. Kendall still tries to pursue Logan, though with a lot less enthusiasm, while Camille still has feelings for Lucy, although not as strong as they once were. She's not over her and still has moments when she can't stop staring at her, but at least she's managed to fight the urge to jump her, and it's not quite as hard as she expected. 

Camille is about to leave her apartment that evening to go to Lucy's for a girls' night in front of the TV, and almost runs into Lucy when she leaves her apartment. She blinks because Lucy looks positively furious, and for a moment, Camille wonders if _she_ has done something to upset the other girl. 

"Lucy?" she asks tentatively. 

"Just got a text from my ex," Lucy practically growls, and Camille jumps aside when Lucy enters. 

Ah. Not her, then. Good. 

She closes the door and watches Lucy pace the living room, not sure what to say, even though she's awfully curious. Since that first night, they haven't talked about relationships at all, really, even though Camille's been wondering what happened between Lucy and her ex to make her that pessimistic about relationships in general. But figuring that Lucy would tell her all about it if she wants her to know, she's kept her mouth shut. 

"Lucy?" she tries again when almost five minutes go by without either of them saying a word. 

"I just… I can't believe this."

"What is it, sweetie?" Camille asks softly, sitting down on the couch and patting the spot next to her. "Talk to me?"

Lucy takes a breath and sits down. "This. This is what's up."

She thrusts her phone into her hand. Camille frowns and looks down at it, reading. 

' _Hey babe. Saw a pic of u on FB; lookin' pretty sexy ;) I'm in LA next week; wanna hook up?_

Camille glances at the name – Alex – and finally looks up at Lucy again, not sure what to say. 

"I mean," Lucy starts again, getting up and walking to the window. She opens it and pulls out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep drag. She waves her hands around wildly as if she's trying to find the right words to express her anger, and Camille watches her patiently, glancing down at the text again. 

"I just can't fucking believe her," Lucy hisses. "I mean, what the fuck is she thinking? That she can just call me whenever she's feeling a little horny? I'm not some plaything, for fuck's sake. She broke up with me because I was boring, you know?"

She laughs bitterly. "Because back at home, I was mommy and daddy's good little girl, getting great grades and playing the violin, looking much more conservative than I do now. So she dumped me because she wanted someone more exciting. And now she's suddenly interested in me again because I'm in LA to become a fucking rock star? I just… I can't believe this. I can't believe _her_."

Camille blinks, confused, and tries to process. 

She opens her mouth, then closes it, and finally just asks. " _Her_?"

Lucy seems to only just notice that Camille is still in the room with her, and looks at her blankly. "What? Yeah. I'm gay, so yes, _her_. I thought that was obvious."

She looks at Camille for a moment, then launches into another rant about her ex Alex who is a girl. 

Lucy is gay. As in, likes girls. 

She's been gay all along.

Camille doesn't even hear what Lucy is saying because she's trying to figure out if Lucy's ever said anything that could've given her a hint about the fact that she's into girls. But Camille can't think of anything. 

She's lost in thought for a long moment and only comes back to reality when Lucy closes the window and comes back over to her, sitting down next to her. She leans back and sighs, glaring at the ceiling. 

Camille watches her for a moment, then suddenly moves over, cups Lucy's cheeks with both hands and presses a hard kiss against her lips. She closes her eyes and tries to turn off her brain, falling into the kiss. She parts her lips, tasting cigarette smoke and cherry chap stick.

Lucy seems rigid and shocked, so Camille draws back after a moment, feeling her cheeks flush. 

Lucy looks stunned, and Camille's heart sinks. 

Before Lucy can say anything, she jumps to her feet and almost stumbles over Lucy's feet on her way to the door. "I just… remembered something," she splutters. "I have to go, so… I'll see you later. Night!"

Then she leaves the apartment, and runs through the corridors until she's put some distance between her and Lucy. She sits down in the stairs and sucks in a deep breath, rubbing her temples as she pulls her knees up. 

She's just kissed Lucy. _Kissed_ her. Without any warning or anything. And just when Lucy was upset about her ex, and… fuck, what was she _thinking_? 

She takes a deep breath and tries to calm down and not think about how soft Lucy's lips have felt against her own. She doesn't even mind the slight taste of cigarettes, because it's just… Lucy. 

She massages her temples and tries to think about how to proceed. 

Then she suddenly realizes that she has basically just fled from her _own_ apartment and left Lucy there. And that she's forgotten to take a key. And that she's basically just locked herself out, on top of making a complete fool out of herself.

She groans and slaps her forehead again. 

"How stupid _are_ you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that, or…?"

Kendall. Camille looks up and spots him a few stairs above her. When he sees her face, his own expression changes into a look of concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Camille just whines and rubs her face again. "Can we _not_ talk about this right now?"

Kendall shrugs. "Okay, sure. If you don't want to…"

He's still looking at her worriedly, and slides down the stairs to sit next to her. "Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

Camille swallows hard. "I just did something really stupid, Kendall, and… I need a place to stay tonight. Can I stay at yours?"

Kendall looks curious but doesn't ask any more questions, which she's grateful for. She bites her lip, looking at him pleadingly, and he nods. "Sure. You know there's a bed available in Katie's room, so you can stay however long you want to."

He pauses. "Why exactly can't you sleep in your own apartment?"

Camille almost cries. "Don't even ask," she sighs. "Really – don't. But thank you for letting me crash."

"Really, it's no problem," Kendall assures her, then wraps an arm around her. "Hey… don't get me wrong, but… you look like you could use a drink. So how about we grab a bottle of tequila, go up to the roof and get drunk?"

Camille lifts her head and stares at him through her thick curls. "That's the best thing I've heard all day."

Kendall gives her a wide grin, dimples in full force, and Camille can't help but smile back. Even if this whole thing with Lucy ends up being a disaster, she's gained a real friend in Kendall. They weren't that close before, but now they are almost best friends. Which is nice.


	6. Chapter 6

After a while, he takes her back to 2J where they grab a few blankets and pillows as well as a bottle of tequila Kendall has stashed in the back of his closet. He explains what's going on to Carlos and James, who give her equally worried looks. She ignores them and looks out of the window. 

Finally, Kendall is back and they make their way up onto the roof. The sun has already set, and it's nice up there. She takes a deep breath as she sits down on one of the blankets, stretching her legs. 

Kendall opens the bottle and lets her have the first sip, his brows shooting up when she knocks back three shots in quick succession. The liquid burns as it slides down her throat, but she ignores it and focuses on the slight tipsiness that kicks in only minutes later. She leans back and sighs softly, then looks over at Kendall who's staring at her. 

"What?" she asks. 

Kendall shrugs. "Just wondering what's got you so upset that you feel the need to drown your sorrows in alcohol is all."

Camille gives him an incredulous look. "Um… hello? You're the one who offered me booze. Who am I to say no to that?"

Kendall snorts. "Okay, point taken. But honestly, what happened? It's me – you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Camille nibbles her bottom lip and nods. "Of course I know that. It's not that I don't want to talk to _you_ about this. I'm just… not sure if I want to talk about it at all. But okay."

She sits up and takes a breath. "Basically… Lucy just stormed into my apartment, looking furious, and started ranting about her ex who suddenly got in touch with her and wants to – well, basically, fuck her. She was quite upset about it, and… anyway, her ex? The name is Alex. And it's a girl."

She waits for Kendall's reaction and gets it instantly – his brows shoot up and he looks just as surprised as she felt earlier. "I know, right? I had no idea her ex was a girl. It doesn't matter – I mean, obviously I'm not one to judge since I have a hardcore crush on _her_ , but… anyway. Then she was sitting next to me again, and I just… I kissed her. I kissed her, and she was just all stiff and looked totally shocked, so I got up and ran. I didn't realize we were in _my_ apartment at the time, so I didn't take my keys, and… I'm just all confused now, and can't go back to my apartment because I don't feel like dealing with Bitters right now."

Kendall's staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face. 

"What?" she asks, reaching for her friend Tequila. It's strangely addicting. 

"Nothing," Kendall says slowly. "Except that – oh, you found out your girl crush is into _girls_ and that you _kissed_ her! Dude, this is big! You've made amazing progress whereas I'm still stuck not knowing whether Logan will ever realize I want him."

Camille thinks about that for a moment, then shakes her head. "How? How is this progress? I may have just fucked it all up, Kendall. She's gay, but that doesn't mean I'm her type. Maybe she just wants to be friends, which is what we _have_ been for the past weeks. If she was interested, wouldn't she have at least told me she's gay? I mean… really. And kissing her was a stupid mistake. You should've seen her face; she's never going to talk to me again. I fucked up, Kendall. I really did."

Kendall shakes his head. "No. I don't think you have, babe. She probably just needs some time to process this. She didn't know you were interested in her, you know? So give her some time; I'm sure this will all work out in your favor."

"You think?" Camille asks skeptically, biting her lip. 

Kendall nods. "I'm sure. And I'm proud of you, Camille! You did what I've been dreaming of doing for a while, and… wow. I'm just really, really impressed right now."

Camille can't help it; she gives him a smile. Kendall's enthusiasm is infectious and she nearly finds herself feeling just as optimistic about what's happened as he is. 

Nearly, but not quite.

"So you think this is a good thing," she concludes, taking another shot before handing the bottle back to Kendall. Her head is spinning more than a little now, and she's definitely had enough. 

"Yes," Kendall replies. "Yeah, I think it's a great thing. Just wait and see. I give Lucy a week at the most."

Camille is still not _entirely_ convinced but chooses to believe Kendall; he's been right about most things that have happened so far, so maybe he's right about this too.

She lies down on the pillows and rolls onto her side, looking up at Kendall. "So you and Logan… still nothing new?"

Kendall shakes his head. "Nope." He flops down as well. "Basically, I catch him watching me sometimes, but he's just so damned unreadable, you know? If it was James or Carlos, I'd know right away, but with Logan, it's a little harder. He can actually hide his feelings pretty well, unlike the other two, so… mostly, I'm at a loss and don't know what to do. But maybe I should go all Camille on him and kiss him when he least expects it."

He smirks when Camille slaps his arm, but she can't help grinning back. "Shut up, you."

"Oh yeah? Make me." Kendall grins, and Camille, already more than a little tipsy, leans in and kisses him. She meant to pull back immediately, but Kendall's lips taste sweet, so she lingers a little longer than strictly necessary. Long enough for Kendall to kiss her back. 

She has a feeling they shouldn't be doing this, but for some reason, she can't make herself stop. Besides – they're both single and their Chosen ones are kind of daft, so why the hell shouldn't they make out a little? She opens her mouth willingly when she feels Kendall's tongue gently brushing her bottom lip. Their tongues slide against each other slowly, and Kendall makes a soft little sound in the back of his throat as she moves closer, fingers stroking his bare, slightly goose-bumped arm gently. 

They kiss for a few long minutes until Camille slowly draws back. She keeps her eyes closed because she isn't sure she wants to see another disappointed face. Her kisses seem to have that effect on people lately, so she doesn't open her eyes until Kendall brushes his fingers over her cheek, a surprisingly gentle gesture. 

He's smiling at her fondly, and Camille swallows hard. "What just happened?" she whispers, and Kendall shrugs. 

"You kissed me. I kissed you. I thought it was kind of nice."

Camille licks her lips. "It was."

Kendall hums softly. "Yeah. Then what's the problem? Just an innocent little kiss between friends."

Camille nods slowly, even though she's not sure that kiss was as innocent as Kendall claims it was. She looks into his eyes, and runs her fingers through his hair, then closes her eyes and shivers when Kendall leans in again and brushes another gentle kiss over her lips. She returns it instantly and wraps her arms around his neck as he leans over her a bit, his body hard and solid against hers. She makes an involuntary little sound when he brushes her hair out of her face, twirling a curl around his finger. 

Their tongues tangle as the kiss deepens, and she feels her heart pick up its pace as her body begins to react to the kiss. Her head is spinning, and she isn't sure if it's the alcohol or just Kendall. Because Kendall's lips are the most incredible thing she's felt for a long time. They even make her forget about what Lucy tastes like. 

He runs his fingers down her neck, sending shivers down her spine, then brushes gentle fingertips over her collarbone and shoulder, sliding the strap of her top back up from where it had slipped down. He swallows and draws back a little to rub his nose against hers, and Camille's stomach flutters. She takes a breath just before he kisses her again and releases it through her nose. 

Kendall's hand keeps wandering; slowly down her arm, then up the side of her body. She can tell that he's just as excited and nervous as she is; she can feel his heart pounding in his chest, rivaling her own. Then his hand gently wraps around her breast, rubbing her nipple lightly through the thin fabrics of her top and bra. She lets out a surprised gasp. 

Kendall's hand stills for a moment as he tries to find out if she's okay with this, and she finds herself kissing him back a little harder to reassure him that yes, for some fucked up reason, this _is_ what she wants right now. 

Encouraged, Kendall tightens his hand around her breast and squeezes it lightly, grazing his teeth over her bottom lip and sucking it into her mouth. Camille moans involuntarily and digs her fingers into the back of his neck. 

When they break for air again, he makes the most delicious little sound in the back of his throat and then pushes himself up and lifts himself on top of her. Camille spreads her legs and pulls up her knees, trapping him between her thighs and wrapping her arms around his neck again when he's comfortably settled on top of her. Their eyes meet and Camille shivers at the intensity she sees in Kendall's eyes. She swallows hard, then lets her eyes flutter closed again when he presses their lips together in another increasingly needy kiss. 

She moans softly when she feels the hard bulge between his legs against her crotch, and rubs against it without even meaning to. It's the sexiest thing she's ever felt. 

She slides her hands down his back and pushes his shirt up, stroking his warm back with slightly trembling fingers. She digs them into his back when Kendall starts moving a little, grinding his hips against hers and making her moan in surprise. She meets his hips with her own, gasping because he's pressing against her and it feels wonderful and exciting, and she just _wants_ him. 

Still not sure if it's the alcohol or just _want_ , she slides her hands down into his trousers, slipping them beneath the fabric of his boxers and cupping his ass. Kendall gasps and his hand curls around her breast again, cupping it firmly. 

He finally breaks the kiss and trails soft, already slightly kiss-swollen lips down her throat, tongue darting out to dip into the hollow between her collarbones. Camille tilts her head back and gasps, arching up as he continues to lick his way down the center of her body until he reaches her top. 

She swallows hard and frees her hands, pressing one of them against his chest to push him back a little. Kendall looks down at her questioningly, but she just reaches down and tugs her top up and over her head, tossing it away. 

Kendall smirks; that infuriating smirk that drives her to desperation so often now does things to her that she hasn't thought possible. She rolls her eyes at him, then moans when he presses his lips against the hollow between her breasts, sucking lightly. 

"God, yes," she gasps; she can't help herself. Her panties are literally soaked at this point, and her body's taking over, wanting what it wants. And what she wants right now, is Kendall. 

She rakes her nails over his back as he pushes the strap of her bra back down over her shoulder and cups one of her breasts with his large hand, pushing it up lightly and bending his head to lick a trail around her nipple. 

"Ohh," she gasps, arching up, wanting more of those amazing lips and teeth and tongue; wanting him more than she'd ever wanted anything. She furrows her brow and digs her teeth into her lip when she feels wet heat around her nipple, then suction. 

God, that _mouth._. 

She suddenly finds herself wondering what that mouth would – will? – feel like when it's somewhere else on her body, and that thought almost makes her come spontaneously. She tilts her hips up, pressing as hard against Kendall as she can while he presses down against her. She can feel his cock twitching lightly, and lets out a breath. 

Kendall moves his amazing lips to her other breast, spending just as much time on her other nipple, and Camille can't take it anymore. This slow seduction Kendall is obviously doing is wonderful, but right now, she just wants more. 

She reaches down between their bodies and starts unbuttoning Kendall's trousers, tugging them down over his ass. She presses her palm against his erection, moaning when she feels how hard he is, a wet spot already forming where the head of his cock is. 

She licks her lips and rubs her palm against him with teasing slowness and pressure that must be torturous because Kendall's hips are moving a little more erratically. She grins a little, and is about to slide her hand _inside_ his boxers when Kendall suddenly sits back on his knees and stares down at her. 

An involuntary whine escapes her and she reaches for him, but Kendall catches her hands with his own, pressing his lips against her fingertips. Camille's jaw drops a little and she swallows hard, hypnotized by the darkness of Kendall's eyes. 

He lets go of her hand and she watches him tug off his t-shirt and wiggle out of his trousers. She licks her lips as her eyes travel over his body hungrily; she's never really _looked_ at him that way before, but now she realizes that he's beautiful; his body slender yet defined. 

She's in a sort of trance until Kendall's hands are back on her body, touching her hips possessively. Then he starts working on the button and zipper of her jeans, glancing up at her to check if this is okay – but Camille definitely isn't going to complain now. This is exactly what she wants, and Kendall, seeing this, gives her a quick, dimply smile before he tugs her jeans down as well. 

He tilts his head as he looks down at her, and she can literally feel his eyes burning into her skin. He looks hungry, turned on, the tenting boxers not the only indication for how much he wants this, too. She reaches for him, and Kendall nods as he gets back down on top of her, their groins now freed of two more unnecessary layers of fabric. 

She gaps because now she can feel Kendall's cock more clearly, pressed against her wet panties. 

She slides her hand back up the back of his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair and tugging him down for a hard kiss that should leave Kendall in no doubt about what exactly it is that she wants. She tugs on his bottom lip with her teeth, sucks his tongue into her mouth, and arches up against him again, her need obvious. 

They kiss for several minutes, their bodies moving together in perfect if somewhat uncoordinated sync. Then Kendall reaches around her back and unclasps her bra, taking it off her and staring down at her. He cups both breasts in his palms, pushing them up and together a little, then leans down to kiss them again, eliciting a helpless moan from Camille. 

Her breath quickens when his lips move down after that, tongue tracing a couple of her ribs before the tip of it circles her bellybutton. Camille's eyes flutter closed and she wishes she had something to hold onto because Kendall is driving her absolutely nuts with his skilled kisses and touches. 

She whimpers helplessly when he disappears between her legs, lips brushing her still-clothed mound. She spreads her legs wider, giving him better access, then lifts her hips when he pulls her panties down and off her. 

She looks down at him, leaning on her elbows, her chest rising and falling quickly as she watches him move between her legs again. He lifts one of them over his shoulders, and raises a brow at her, a seductive smirk on his lips as he leans forward and kisses her. 

"Oh fuck," Camille gasps, letting her head fall back when Kendall spreads her lips with his fingers and strokes the tip of his tongue over her clit. She stares up at the stars in the sky, her body trembling as he circles her clit with his tongue again and again. 

He sucks on it lightly, then his lips move down, tongue lightly penetrating her opening. Camille falls back against the soft pillow, moaning and whimpering. His mouth moves back up to her clitoris after a little while, and she feels two fingers teasing her entrance. She bites her lip, groaning in frustration when the bastard doesn't just push them in, but just keeps circling her opening with painful slowness. 

"Kendall," she manages, her voice low and strained, "I need you. Now."

She reaches down, touching his shoulder, then finds his hair to grab at, and ignores his soft hiss when she tugs a little harder than strictly necessary. He looks up at her, licking his lips, then moves up her body and sits up again, tugging his boxers down. She stares at him in wonder, taking in as much of his body as she can, before he's between her legs again, hovering above her, staring down at her. 

Camille touches his cheeks, then hooks a leg around his waist and pulls him down, jerking up a little when the tip of his cock brushes her hole. She swallows hard, then cups the back of his neck and looks down. Kendall's stroking his cock, his eyes fastened on her body. Watching his long fingers moving over his erection is unbelievably sexy, and Camille bites her lip hard. He positions himself and guides his cock inside a few moments later. Torn between watching him push in and watching his face, Camille finally looks up and watches the blissful expression on Kendall's face. His brow is furrowed, his mouth hanging open as he pushes in all the way, getting settled on top of her again. 

Camille clenches around him, wrapping both legs around his hips now and holding him close. She bites her lip and touches his face, then pulls him down for a hard, passionate kiss. He begins to move after a bit, pulling out almost all the way before plunging back in, and Camille can't help but moan. She breaks the kiss when she needs to breathe, and instead buries her face in Kendall's neck, moving with him as he picks up his pace and starts thrusting a little more firmly. They move together, the only sound the LA traffic far away and their combined panting and gasping. 

Propped up on one arm, Kendall uses his free hand to touch as much of her as he can reach, cupping her breasts and brushing gentle fingers over her arms and shoulders, her collarbone and neck. He looks down at her with a look she's never seen on his face before; it's intriguing and beautiful, and she can't look away. 

He starts thrusting faster and harder, his body taking over, his moans getting louder and more desperate. She feels his warm breath against her skin and arches up when he pushes in, his pelvis rocking against her clit. She doesn't have any expectations for this to last hours – it's not what she wants anyway. She's close already from all the intensity and foreplay before the actual act. 

"Camille," Kendall murmurs against her neck, whispering her name over and over again. She shivers and bites her lip hard as she feels herself getting closer to the edge. Kendall keeps thrusting, pushing into her over and over until she finally feels her body tighten and she comes hard, nails digging into Kendall's back. She clenches around him and feels the familiar sensation of incredible pleasure spread through her body before she falls back against the pillow, panting. Kendall's looking down at her, that intense look still on his face, his movements becoming more erratic as he's approaching his own orgasm. 

He finally gasps and pulls out of her, wrapping his hand around his cock and giving himself a few rough jerks with his hand before his eyes flutter closed, his mouth opens and he spurts his release all over her belly.

She lets out a shaky breath as she watches him finish, then reaches down and trails her finger through his come, bringing her hand up to her lips to taste him. Kendall stares down at her in fascination, then swallows hard and lowers himself back on top of her, trailing gentle kisses along her jaw and collarbone. 

Camille closes her eyes and wraps her arms around him, holding him close as they both come down from their orgasms, breathing in unison. As her body slowly recovers, her mind does too, and a million questions pop up in her head; questions she has no answers to. She bites her lip, and Kendall seems to sense it; he lifts his head and looks down at her, and silences her with a long, deep kiss before she can even begin to form a question. 

She melts into the kiss, returning it gently, tracing Kendall's spine with her fingers. 

They kiss for a long time, tongues tangling lazily, before Kendall finally draws back and pushes himself up. He reaches for his boxers and wipes himself and Camille clean before laying down beside her, reaching for a couple of blankets and pulling them over them. Camille rolls onto her side and looks at him, biting her thumb thoughtfully, not sure what to say. 

"Kendall, I–"

"I know," he interrupts her, taking her hand and pressing a kiss against her palm. Camille melts a little and bites her lip. "Let's just… tomorrow."

He looks into her eyes. "Tomorrow. For now… let me just hold you, okay?"

Camille is relieved because she doesn't really _want_ to talk about it; her ever-curious mind just can't seem to turn itself off. But she nods and moves closer to him, sighing contentedly as his arms wrap around her, and she nestles into him. He kisses her lips and nose lightly, then closes his eyes, tucking her head under his chin and stroking her back soothingly. 

It doesn't take long for it to calm her down, and she falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Camille wakes up the next morning when the first sunrays touch her face. She blinks and rubs her eyes, then opens them, and finds Kendall with his head propped up on his hand, looking at her with a smile she can't quite figure out. 

"Morning," she murmurs, rubbing her face and hoping she doesn't look too bad. Kendall's seen her in the morning before – in pretty much the worst condition ever – but for some reason, it seems different now. 

"Morning," he says back, his voice soft and slightly raspy. He brushes her hair back and gives her a smile, which Camille can't help returning. 

She sighs softly and snuggles back into him, hiding her face in his chest. His fingers keep threading through her hair as they lay there in comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun on their skins. The longer the silence stretches, the more Camille wants to talk about what happened, though, and she finally bites her lip and lifts her head, looking at him questioningly. She isn't sure what she's asking, but maybe Kendall still has an explanation. 

He shakes his head and shrugs, clearly not sure what to say either. 

She sighs softly, and presses her face into his neck. "Aren't you supposed to have all the answers?" she murmurs, stroking the fuzzy hair at the back of his neck lightly. 

"I thought _you're_ supposed to have all the answers," he says back, and she can hear the smile in his voice. 

She rolls her eyes and just keeps stroking, thinking about the events of the previous night. 

She kissed Lucy. Then she kissed Kendall and slept with him. Which doesn't make any sense. She's never thought about Kendall that way… or has she?

She nibbles her lip, confused. 

"Relax," he murmurs, rubbing her shoulder gently. "You're all tense. There's nothing to be tense about."

"Oh really?" she can't stop herself from asking. "I've only kissed the girl I thought I liked, and slept with one of my best friends."

"It'll all sort itself out," Kendall murmurs, and Camille draws back to look at him. He's surprisingly zen about all this. She bites the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, then sighs and shakes her head. There's no point in thinking about it now and hoping for a solution to all of this to magically appear. Maybe later, when she's alone. Right now she just wants to feel Kendall's arms around her, because they feel surprisingly perfect. 

She nestles into him again and closes her eyes, and soon, she's dozing off again, perfectly comfortable in Kendall's arms.

~°~°~°~°~°~

She wakes up again when she hears a shriek. She blinks and pushes herself up, and sees James standing a bit away from them, staring, mouth hanging open. She gasps and pulls the blanket over herself to cover her breasts. Kendall sits up as well and rubs his eyes. 

" _Dude_ ," James just says when he finally finds his voice. "I mean, _DUDE_. You are aware that Logan's going to kill you when he finds out, right? What were you _thinking_?"

He pauses. "And more importantly – why the hell did I not know you two had something going on?"

"We don't," Camille and Kendall say in unison, and James raises a brow. 

"Then how do you explain… well, _this_?"

Kendall looks around as if he's expecting to find an explanation to James' question on the roof. He does, actually, and picks up the bottle of tequila. Then he just shrugs. "It just happened, James. We got drunk and… it happened."

For some reason, that answer doesn't sit quite right with Camille and she frowns at Kendall, looking down. 

"So you're not in love or anything? Thank _God_. I really wouldn't want to be around when you tell Logan _that_ , you know? Well, great. We have to be at the studio in half an hour, so get your ass downstairs, shower and get ready. You know Gustavo's already not too happy with you, so… hurry up."

He looks at Camille then, and smiles sweetly. "Nice rack, Camille. Seriously – lovely boobs."

He turns around and leaves, and Camille stares after him. "He is unreal."

Kendall grins and nods. "Yep. Pretty much. That's James Diamond for you."

He stands up and starts getting dressed, obviously taking James' warning to heart, and she leans back and watches him appreciatively. He really does have an exceptionally nice body. 

When he's dressed, he picks up the bottle and wraps it into one of the blankets, then looks around to check if he's forgotten something. Then he kneels down and touches Camille's cheek, looking down at her. "We'll talk later, all right? Don't worry about anything too much, all right? We'll figure this out."

Then he leans in and kisses her forehead lightly, and leaves her alone on the roof. 

Camille takes a deep breath and looks up at the perfectly blue sky, wondering what the hell she's just gotten herself into. This whole situation has just gone from perfectly simple yet slightly frustrating to very complicated and _still_ hugely frustrating. 

She stays up on the roof for another few minutes before she makes herself get up, get dressed and go down into the lobby to get a second key from Bitters, so she can finally get back to her room. 

She hopes Lucy isn't there anymore.

~°~°~°~°~°~

Half an hour later, she's finally convinced Bitters to give her the key and come back to her empty apartment. She slides into the warm bubbly water in her tub, feeling herself relax instantly. She closes her eyes and leans back, shivering a little. 

She stays there like that for a while, and finds herself thinking back to the previous night. Just a mere fourteen hours ago, she'd been sure that kissing Lucy would be the most exciting thing to happen to her for a while, but now she can't stop thinking about the night she's spent with Kendall. 

It kind of feels like a dream – a very realistic one, but still a dream. But it wasn't a dream; it has actually happened and now she needs to figure out what to do about all of it. Before last night, she was sure she was in love with Lucy. She was consumed with the other girl and couldn't think about anything but her. But now, her thoughts keep drifting back to the way Kendall looked at her and touched her and kissed her, and…

Does she want Kendall now? Can she even tell so soon after it's happened? What if she ends up wanting Kendall and he still wants Logan? What if she doesn't want Kendall and he wants her? What if the kiss has convinced Lucy and _she_ wants her, while Camille suddenly wants Kendall?

She sighs and looks up at the ceiling, not sure how any of this is going to work out or be solved. Cause if she and Kendall decide that they want to explore where this could go… would Logan be okay with that? Because she's pretty sure that Logan has a crush on Kendall at this point, and she can't break his heart either. They just all mean too fucking much to her for her to risk it all for something that might not work out at all in the end. 

She swallows hard, and suddenly wishes Jo was here. She would be able to help her figure this out. But on the other hand – Jo used to be with Kendall, so maybe she wouldn't be able to be objective either. What the fuck is she supposed to _do_ here? She needs someone objective to talk to, but all the people she's close to are either directly or indirectly involved. 

God, this is fucked up.

She pinches her nose, glides underwater, and stays there for a while.

~°~°~°~°~°~

She stays in her apartment most of the day, not sure if she's ready to face anyone just yet. She kind of wants to know what's going to happen next, but for anything to happen at all, she first needs to figure out how she feels about everything. And that can take a while. 

She looks out of the window and watches the Palmwoods residents by the pool, having fun and not a worry in the world. She presses her face against the window, then her heart skips a beat when she sees Kendall and the others come back from the studio. She watches them, then bites her lip when they disappear from her view, and she flops down on her couch. 

Moments later, there is a knock on her door, and her heart sinks. She's not sure if she wants to open the door; not sure if she wants to see anyone right now. But finally, curiosity wins out and she walks over there and opens it, expecting to see either Kendall or Lucy.

It's neither. 

It's James. 

"Hi! Can I come in? Thank you!"

He doesn't wait for her to answer, just walks past her into her apartment, looking around. "Nice crib! I like."

He flops down on the couch and Camille watches him, blinking. She closes the door, then follows him inside, and looks at him. "Um… what are you doing here, James?"

James looks up at her with a smile. "I've come to have a serious talk with you, Camille," he announces, and Camille cocks a brow. 

Okay, maybe she underestimates James Diamond, but she's never really thought of him as a big talker. Or thinker. Maybe that is judgmental of her, but so far, she's mostly only thought of him as a pretty face. A really nice person, of course – James is great and funny and sweet and everything, but… she isn't sure if _he_ of all people is the person to solve all of her problems.

But maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt.

She disappears into the kitchen and comes back with two cold Cokes, setting them down on the coffee table and sitting down across from him. "Okay, James. What would you like to talk about?"

James smiles and reaches for his drink, opening the can and taking a few sips. Then he leans back and taps his fingers on his thigh. "About everything," he says finally. "How about everything?"

"That might take a while," Camille laughs, nibbling her lip. "You'd probably get bored."

James raises a brow. "Try me."

Camille bites her lip and considers it for a moment. Then she decides to give it a try. She tells him about agreeing to help Kendall get Logan, about herself having an intense crush on Lucy, the fact that she and Kendall have become really good friends over the course of the last few weeks, about the kiss she gave Lucy the day before, about the sex, and finally, about her confusion. 

When she's done, she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly before reaching for her Coke and taking a few more sips. She looks at James expectantly – but she's not really expecting all that much.

"I see," James says finally, rubbing his chin. "Well. Looks like you have a choice to make, Camille. Who will it be? Lucy or Kendall?"

Camille sighs. "That's how far I got on my own too. I have no idea, James. I'm not sure how I feel about either of them at this point, and I'm not sure how they feel about me, and…"

"That shouldn't matter," James says then, interrupting her. He leans forward. "This is about _you_ , Camille. You need to decide what you want; _who_ you want. I believe you can get anything you want, and whoever you do want, you'll get in the end. You're that great. But now you need to figure out which one of the two you want, and then… even if they say they don't want you right now, I believe that you will change their mind, even if it takes a while."

Camille sits there, open-mouthed, honestly stunned. She should've known not to underestimate James because the moment she did, he came up with something like _that_. 

And he's right. He's absolutely fucking right. She shouldn't wait for one of them to come to her and tell her they want her; she has to decide this alone, on her own time. 

"James, that's…"

"I know," James says with a little grin. "Let me guess – you didn't expect that much depth from The Face, The Body, The Butt, and all that?"

Camille returns the smile. "True, I didn't. But this… you're right. I shouldn't pick the person who wants me, but the one _I_ want. Which won't be easy to figure out but… yeah. Basically, you're right."

James looks smug and nods, then finishes his Coke. He sets it down and shrugs. "Or hey, maybe you don't want either of the two. If you really wanted one of them, it wouldn't be so hard to decide, would it?" He leans in and flashes her a wide, white smile. "Maybe you really want _me_."

He wiggles his brows, and Camille laughs, then watches him get up and brush his hair back. "If you need any help figuring out whether it's Kendall or Lucy you want, let me know. Maybe I have a few more unexpected tricks up my sleeve."

He winks at her, then leaves without another word, leaving Camille to her thoughts. 

Her very, very confusing thoughts.

~°~°~°~°~°~

In the evening, she finally leaves her apartment, ready to face her fears. 

And runs straight into Logan. 

"Camille! Hi!"

"Oh… hi," she says tentatively, feeling her cheeks heat up. She feels guilty. Why does she feel guilty? It's not like Logan even knows Kendall wants – or wanted? – him, so there's no reason at all to feel guilty, is there? They're not a couple, she isn't cheating on Logan, so… 

Of course there is the stupid ex girlfriend code – but Kendall's breaking that one, not her. 

But she's a part of it, so feeling guilty does make some sense. 

She makes herself meet his eyes and give him a smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing – just looking for Kendall," he says, shrugging, and Camille feels herself blush again. Damn it, she'd never had a problem with blushing before – what is _up_ with her lately?

"Oh. Well, I haven't seen him. Try 2J?"

Logan shakes his head. "Nope, that's where I'm coming from. But it's fine; it's not urgent or anything, so… tell me! What's new with you?"

Camille swallows hard. "Nothing special either," she lies, hoping Logan doesn't figure out she's not telling him the whole truth – but she doesn't have to worry since Logan is pretty clueless most of the time. "Just looking for Kendall as well, actually. Or Lucy. Have you seen Lucy?"

At that, Logan's face darkens. "No, I haven't," he says. 

Camille blinks, watching him curiously. "What's with the face?"

"Nothing," Logan says, nibbling his lip. Then he leans in. "Actually – I think Kendall might be with Lucy."

Camille is immediately alarmed and leans in as well. "What makes you think that?" she asks nervously, wondering why on earth Kendall and Lucy would be together. 

"I think they're dating secretly," Logan admits then, and Camille blinks, trying not to laugh. Kendall and Lucy dating? If that were the case, Kendall would be _good_ – dating or courting three people at the same time. 

Although he isn't actually courting _Camille_ at all, is he? Maybe he doesn't even remember the previous night – or maybe he considers it some fun among friends, and doesn't read as much into it as she does at all. She tries not to feel too hopeless at that realization.

"What makes you think _that_?" she asks, focusing back on Logan, who looks distressed. "And why would that be a problem?" she adds carefully, watching him. 

Logan shrugs. "It wouldn't be a problem at all. I just…" He shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just being silly."

Camille presses on. "So what makes you think they might be seeing each other? Do you know something?"

Logan shrugs and shakes his head. "Not really. I haven't seen them make out or anything; I just have a _feeling_ , you know?" Camille tries not to roll her eyes; she knows Logan's "feelings" and sometimes – most of the time, actually – he's completely wrong about them. He continues. "Kendall hasn't been around much lately; he's always running off doing God knows what with God knows _who_ , and I have a feeling he's meeting up with some girl behind our backs. And I just assume it's Lucy because… well, because James and Carlos have forbidden him to date her, and she and Kendall – well, they're close, aren't they?"

"Are they?" Camille asks automatically, feeling once again guilty because unless she's completely wrong, _she_ is the girl Kendall's been neglecting his friends for. 

"Well… yeah." Logan frowns. "Are you even paying attention?"

He waves a hand in front of her face, and Camille frowns. "Stop that. I'm sorry, I just… have a lot going on right now. I should go, and I'll see you later, all right? Take care Logan, and…"

She pauses. "Don't worry too much about Kendall, all right? I'm sure he's not forgetting his best buds. You guys always come first; you should know that by now."

She gives him a smile, then walks to the elevator and goes downstairs. 

When the doors open in the lobby, she sees Lucy right away. She takes a deep breath and makes up her mind; she's going to talk to her, and see what happens. She doesn't have any plans right now; still doesn't have any idea whether she'd rather date Lucy or Kendall, but she does need to face them both either way, so…

She makes her way over to Lucy, but before she can get the other girl's attention, a hand wraps around her wrist and she's yanked away and lets out a surprised squeak. 

She's shoved none too gently into the supply closet and the door closes behind her. She fumbles for the light switch and when she finds it, comes face to face with Kendall's smirk. "Hi!"

"Kendall," she breathes. "What the actual fuck?"

Kendall just keeps smiling, and she glares. "Okay, what are you doing?"

She takes a step back when he takes one towards her, and frowns. "Kendall?"

She doesn't get a reply – and doesn't really care a moment later – when he wraps his arms around her, pulls her close and presses their lips together. She struggles for a moment but then gives in, melting into the kiss and sighing against Kendall's soft lips. 

Damn that boy and his irresistible dimples…

They kiss for a few minutes before she finally manages to draw back and glare at him. "What are you _doing_?"

Kendall raises a brow. "I thought that was fairly obvious," he says, brushing a stray curl of hers behind her ear. Camille shivers. 

"Yeah – but _why_ are you doing it?" She tries not to sound too desperate, but this is confusing her and she wants answers – which Kendall seems to be reluctant to give. 

"Because I want to," he murmurs, leaning in and trailing soft kisses down her neck, sucking on a particularly sensitive spot on her collarbone. Fuck. 

She feels her knees buckle and holds onto him without even wanting to, and tries to remember why they shouldn't be doing this. Right now, she honestly doesn't remember. 

Then he suddenly steps back and runs a hand through his hair, messing it up. "I'll meet you at your place tonight," he says. "Wait for me?"

He smiles his dimply smile, gives her the most adorable look she's ever seen and then leaves the closet. 

"Kendall–"

But the door is closed and she still isn't any smarter. 

Fuck. 

When she leaves the janitor's closet a moment later, after making sure her hair looks okay, Lucy is gone – which isn't necessarily a bad thing because in the meantime, her resolve to get this sorted out has dissolved, and she just wants to crawl into her bed and cry. 

As if dating Logan hasn't been stressful enough already, she's now gotten herself into a situation that is _beyond_ complicated.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, she's sitting on her couch, waiting for Kendall and wondering what to expect. Are they actually going to talk? Or just have sex again, which will confuse her even more? She honestly doesn't know. Kendall is so hard to _read_. 

She jumps when there's a knock on her door around ten to eight, and goes to open it. But it's not Kendall. It's Logan again. 

"So I was thinking that since we're both single and still like each other, and don't really have any other friends, we could hang out," he says, coming into her apartment without an invitation, and flops down on her couch. Camille stares at him and blinks. "Um… you know, this really isn't a good time, I–"

"But Camiiille…"

Logan gives her that look; the one she's never been able to resist. The one that says, "I'm a sad little puppy and need to be comforted right now."

She sighs. Maybe she can get him out of there before Kendall shows up. Because she isn't sure how to explain the fact that she's expecting Kendall to Logan – before all of this started, they've never been particularly close. 

She sighs and sits down next to him, then listens to him whine about missing Kendall, and wonders if it's really just a friendship thing, or more. It's hard to tell. 

She looks up when there's another knock on the door – but before she can react, Logan's jumped up and gone to the door to open it; always the curious one. 

"Kendall! I've been looking for you all day!"

"Logan!" Kendall says, sounding surprised – whether it's a pleasant surprise or not, she can't tell. "Didn't expect to see _you_ here."

"And I didn't expect to see either of you – is Camille even there?"

Another voice has joined the two boys', and Camille sits up, horrified. Lucy. 

Kendall, Logan and Lucy. And her. In the same room. Could this get any _worse_?

A moment later, the three of them are in her living room, and there's an awkward silence that only Logan doesn't seem to be aware of. Camille stares at Lucy for a moment, then at Kendall, and finally at Logan, who's happily picking a movie for them to watch. 

This ought to be good. 

A few minutes later, the four of them are sitting on her rather small couch – Camille next to Logan, then Lucy and Kendall – and watching a movie. 

She's not sure what either of them thinks is going on here. She's pretty sure that Logan assumes Lucy and Kendall are on a date while Lucy assumes Camille and _Logan_ are on a date; possibly also assuming that Camille was just messing with her when she kissed her, and that she's now back together with her ex. 

She couldn't be more wrong. 

As for Kendall… she's not sure _what_ Kendall is thinking, but when she catches him looking at her, she shrugs and licks her lips. 

"Snacks," she says suddenly. "Who wants snacks? I do. Would you help me in the kitchen, Kendall?"

She stands up and gives him a _look_ , then disappears into the kitchen, waiting by the door. When Kendall arrives, she tugs him inside and frowns. "Did you bring Lucy here?"

Kendall's brows shoot up. "Of course not – why would I do that?"

"I don't know – then why is she here?"

Kendall shrugs. "I don't know; maybe she wants to – oh – talk about that kiss from last night?"

Camille frowns and bites her lip; that actually does make some sense. 

"And what the fuck is Logan doing here – are you two back together or something?" Kendall then asks, and actually looks a little hurt. Camille resists the urge to hug him and kiss it better, and instead just shakes her head. 

"Of course not," she sighs. "He showed up here ten minutes before you, feeling needy and lonely because _you_ haven't been a very good friend lately, apparently."

Kendall frowns, then sighs. "Okay, fine. So… how do we get rid of them?"

Camille raises a brow. "Why would we want to get rid of them? We're having a fantastic time, aren't we?" she asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"Hey," Kendall says, frowning. "No need to snap at me, okay? This isn't my fault."

Camille eyes him, then sighs and rubs her temples. "You're right," she sighs. "You're right – I'm sorry. I just… this is all getting a little too much for me."

"You don't say," Kendall murmurs, then sighs heavily and slides his arms around her, pulling her close. 

"Like this," Camille says. "This isn't helping me either."

Still, she finds herself leaning against him a little, breathing him in. It calms her down a bit and she sighs. 

Kendall doesn't say anything, just holds her in his arms and keeps stroking her curls with gentle fingers, making Camille almost want to purr. She doesn't, though. She won't give him the satisfaction. 

She feels his fingers against her chin and looks into his eyes when he tilts her face up to his. When he touches her cheek, she lets out a shaky breath, then closes her eyes when he kisses her. 

"Kendall," she murmurs against his lips when the kiss deepens and it gets harder to break it, "we can't do this. They'll wonder where we are, and…"

"I think we have a couple more minutes," Kendall whispers, and kisses her hard. Camille whimpers and slides her arms around his neck because she's not sure her feet will keep her upright if she doesn't. She returns the kiss, unable not to, and doesn't step back until Kendall releases her a moment later. 

"Sorry," he breathes. "Got carried away."

He looks at her with those _eyes_ that suddenly make her want to jump him, and she forces herself to look away – when she's not looking at him, she doesn't have to worry about doing something stupid. 

They grab a few snacks, pour chips into bowls and take them back inside. 

She tucks her hair behind her ear and returns Logan's smile when he takes the chips from her, then sits down next to him again. She glances over at her three friends and shakes her head inwardly; this is the most awkward double non-date she's ever had to sit through. 

Said date goes on for a couple more hours until Logan finally begins to yawn; a sure sign that it's time for bed. Lucy and Kendall decide to leave as well.

At the door, Logan hugs her and thanks her for a fun night – she's pretty sure he's the only one who considers it "fun", though. 

When Kendall leans in, he kisses her cheek and whispers, "Don't go to bed yet – I'll be back."

He gives her a wink and a smile, then leaves. Camille looks after him and shakes her head – now she gets why Jo's always described him as "infuriating". Ugh. 

Then finally, it's just her and Lucy, and Camille shifts awkwardly. Lucy doesn't look entirely comfortable either. "I guess we have stuff to talk about, huh?" she asks after a too-long moment of silence. 

Camille nods. "I guess we do," she says carefully. "Do you want to come back inside, or…"

Lucy shakes her head. "No, but… we should talk soon. Maybe tomorrow, yeah?"

Camille nods weakly. "Sure," she says, and watches Lucy walk away. 

Then she closes her eyes and the door, and slides down against it, sitting down on the floor. Suddenly, she wishes James was here – maybe he would be able to give her some insight into this fucked-up situation. 

She sits there for a while, and doesn't really expect Kendall to return, but after a while, he does. She pushes herself up and lets him inside, even though she's not sure it's the best idea. 

Seeing the look on her face, he slides his arms around her instantly, pulling her close for a comforting hug, but Camille shakes her head. "What are we doing here, Kendall?"

He looks down at her thoughtfully, touching her cheek, and leans in to brush a kiss over her lips. "Can't we figure that out tomorrow and just enjoy tonight? I think it's been a pretty long and emotional day already, so why don't we just… go to bed and… don't talk?"

Camille eyes him, not sure if going to bed is a good idea at all, but in the end, she gives in because she can't come up with a good reason not to. And when they're in her bed and Kendall kisses her again, nothing seems to matter but the boy's lips against hers.


	9. Chapter 9

Camille is up early the next morning, despite the fact that Kendall's kept her up nearly all night. She's sitting in an armchair in her room with a cup of coffee, watching Kendall sleep and thinking; wondering when exactly her life has become so complicated. 

She knows she has some thinking to do and that she really needs to talk to Lucy. The longer she waits, the more complicated it will get, and even if it turns out that she's not in love with her, she doesn't want to lose her as a friend. So they need to clear this up; and fast. 

Then, she also needs to talk to Kendall. He's done a pretty good job of avoiding conversations so far, but it can't go on forever. She suddenly remembers that he and the boys are supposed to go on tour in only a few days, and she knows this situation needs to be resolved by then.

She sips some coffee and looks up when Kendall stirs, managing a little smile when he pushes himself up on his elbow and looks around in confusion. He looks sleepy, his hair sticking up in every direction. 

"Hey," he murmurs when he realizes where and who he is, and sits up fully, the sheets pooling around his waist. Camille takes a moment to acknowledge how gorgeous he really is, then rubs her face and waves awkwardly. 

"Morning."

Kendall scratches his chin and watches her. "What's with the serious face?"

Camille sighs. "Just… we need to talk about this, Kendall. I can't take this anymore; I need to know why you're doing this; why you're even here, and how you feel about Logan and what we're going to do, and…"

Kendall holds up his hand and blinks slowly. "Whoa. Early morning, lots of questions. Slow down a little and give me a moment to wake up, yeah?"

He rubs the back of his neck and glances at the alarm clock on the bedside table, his eyes widening a little. "Fuck, I have to be at the studio in fifteen minutes."

He rolls out of bed and his legs get caught in the bed sheets. He almost falls into her closet as he disentangles his legs and starts pulling on his clothes. 

Camille sighs. "Kendall, seriously, you can't run away forever. I'm getting tired of this shit."

Kendall closes the last button of his shirt and comes over to her, leaning over her and pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead. "We'll talk soon. I promise."

He gives her a sweet smile, then smooches her lips and leaves the room, and Camille is just as clueless and frustrated as before. 

Maybe a talk with Lucy will finally give her clarity.

~°~°~°~°~°~

Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to talk to Lucy that day, and doesn't see Kendall in the evening either. Her agent called her for a huge audition, which took all day. And at the end of the day, she's just too tired to do anything else. 

Two more days pass without her seeing any of the boys, who are constantly at the studio, rehearsing for their tour, but in the afternoon of the third day, she finally finds the time to go to Lucy's place, determined to get this solved once and for all.

"Come in," Lucy says, stepping aside to let Camille inside. After some more pointless thinking, Camille's finally found the courage to come and talk to the other girl, knowing that this conversation may end up being terribly awkward – but necessary. 

She gives Lucy a smile, then sits down on the small couch in her living room. She pulls a leg onto it and rests her chin on her knee, taking a deep breath when Lucy joins her. 

They're both silent for a moment, then both start at the same time. They laugh, and Camille bites her lip. "You first."

Lucy nods. "All right. Look."

She pushes her hair behind her shoulder, and turns to look at Camille. "I like you. I like you a lot. But… as a friend. A best friend, actually, but I just don't feel that way about you. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you're not attractive – because you're hot. Seriously. If you weren't such a good friend, I would've totally tried to get into your panties already, but…" 

She takes a breath. "The point is that you _are_ my friend. And I'm focusing on my career right now, and it's nothing personal, but I just don't want a relationship right now. Not with you; not with anyone else."

Camille stares at her feet, but for some reason, the disappointment she was expecting, doesn't come. In fact, she feels a little relieved instead. Which makes her wonder if she was ever in love with Lucy in the first place; maybe it really _was_ all just a stupid obsession. 

She looks over at her and nods. "Okay. It's… fine, I understand."

Lucy bites her lip. "You're not mad at me?"

Camille smiles. "Of course not. Why would I be mad at you? It's not like you led me on or anything; I was just…"

She pauses for a long moment, then decides to tell Lucy everything; starting with the first time she's seen her and ending with that morning a few days ago when Kendall had left her apartment. 

And when she's done, it suddenly all seems to make sense. She _was_ attracted to Lucy at first, but it wasn't the deep, passionate love she initially thought it was. Maybe she just liked the idea of Lucy; the idea of having this exciting, lesbian romance. Which is silly, of course, and Camille completely blames the excessive number of cheesy romance novels she's read. 

Then, spending more time with Kendall made her realize what a great guy he actually is and…

"I'm in love with Kendall," she says slowly, looking stunned. "I'm actually in love with my ex's best friend."

She feels Lucy's hand on her shoulder and blinks, looking over at her. 

"So tell him," Lucy says with a smile. "I think you'd make a great couple. Honestly, when I first saw you two together, I was sure you were dating. I was honestly stunned when I figured out that you weren't. Of course you need to talk to Logan about this. Or let Kendall do it. They have their stupid ex girlfriend code, so it's Kendall's job to solve this."

Camille rubs her face and nods slowly; in all her confusion, she's almost forgotten about Logan, who is also involved in this whole thing. "Oh god, he's going to kill us," she murmurs. 

Lucy shakes her head. "He might be a little pissed at first, but he'll come around. He adores you, and Kendall is his best friend – he's not going to stand in the way of your happiness. I actually think Logan's got a thing for James – but I might be wrong about that."

Camille's brows shoot up. "What makes you think _that_?"

Lucy shrugs. "I don't know. Just something about the way he ogles James's body when they're in the pool. Trust me – that's definitely not platonic appreciation."

Camille lets out a laugh and grins. "Well then. That's a plot twist I didn't expect."

Lucy smiles and strokes her hair back. "So, when are you going to tell Kendall how you feel about him?"

Camille shrugs. "I don't know. I don't have a long time left, since he's leaving for tour… I'm not even sure when they're leaving. This weekend maybe? Which would give me two days."

Lucy thinks for a moment, then sits up abruptly. "Um… wait, aren't they leaving today?"

Camille looks up, alarmed. "What? No, they can't be…"

Lucy scratches her head and nods. "Actually, I think they are. I talked to Carlos the other day, and he mentioned something about Wednesday at four – which would be today. In half an hour, actually."

Camille jumps up, eyes wide. "What am I supposed to do?"

Lucy looks at her and shrugs. "Run?"

Camille nods dumbly and leaves Lucy's apartment; the other girl behind her. Her heart is pounding and she rolls her eyes over how dramatic this whole situation is. If they really _are_ leaving in a few minutes, this is almost like a movie scene, where the girl realizes she wants the guy after all at the last possible moment. 

She never thought something like that could actually happen in real life – but apparently she was wrong. 

They make their way to 2J, and Camille knocks on the door almost desperately, her heart pounding in her chest. 

The door opens a second later and James looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "Camille! What are you doing here?"

"I need Kendall," she hears herself say, then blushes when James gives her a wide smile; clearly understanding that she's finally made up her mind. "Is he here?"

James shakes his head. "Nope – he's actually looking for you."

"Fuck," Camille murmurs. "Are you leaving?"

James nods. "Yeah, in about twenty minutes, so you should hurry up."

He smiles. "Go get him, girl."

Camille rolls her eyes, but has to smile a little. Then she hurries back to the elevator, taking it downstairs. 

In the lobby, she looks around almost desperately, and is about to ask someone about Kendall's whereabouts, when she notices the huge Big Time Rush tour bus outside. She exits the Palmwoods and looks around, then feels her breath catch in her throat when she sees him. 

Kendall looks up and notices her too, giving her a hesitant smile. "Hey you."

"Hey," Camille murmurs, making his way over to him and swallowing hard. She looks at him longingly for a moment… then punches his chest. 

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Camille glares. "Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye, you ass?"

Kendall sighs. "Of course not. I was looking for you. I wouldn't just take off for a few months without seeing you before."

Camille's frown softens, and her stomach flutters when he touches her cheek and brushes her hair behind her ear. She leans into the touch and bites her lip. 

"Kendall, I..."

He opens his mouth and she glares at him, pushing him against the bus. "No. No, you're not going to interrupt me this time; I need to say this. So shut up and listen."

Kendall looks stunned and nods mutely. She takes a breath. "I don't know how you feel about this whole thing, but at this point, I don't care anymore and I just want to tell you how _I_ feel. I know you want Logan and that that's the reason why this whole thing even started, but… I just want you to know that I'm not interested in Lucy anymore. You've done something to me, and now I can't stop thinking about you, and I hate that you're leaving. And I hate even more that you probably don't feel the same way about me, but in fact…"

She trails off and takes a breath, meeting his eyes. "I'm in love with you. And no matter how hard I try not to think about you, I just can't help it. I'm in love with you. And I just wanted you to… know."

She bites her lip and looks down, suddenly feeling silly. Her little speech sounded so much better in her head – but at least now she's said what she came here to say. If Kendall's going to laugh at her, at least she doesn't have to face him for a few weeks, and by the time he gets back, all of this might've blown over. 

She feels his fingers on her chin as he tilts her face up to his, and for a moment, she's really scared of even looking at him, afraid to see his expression. But when she finally opens her eyes, she sees his smile, and swallows hard. 

"So," he says softly. "You'll be waiting for me when I come back?"

Camille bites her lip. "I… guess?"

Kendall's smile widens, and before Camille knows what's happening, he wraps his arms around her, picks her up and kisses her deeply. She lets out a squeak, then wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him back, pouring everything she feels for him into that one kiss. 

It goes on for a while, then Kendall draws back, but doesn't set her down. He rubs his nose against hers and looks into her eyes, making her feel weak and helpless. "Because," he says slowly, "I'm in love with you too, and knowing I have all of _this_ to look forward to when I come back from tour is the best thing I can imagine."

Camille stares at him and almost sobs. "Why couldn't you tell me this days ago? It would've spared me a lot of anguish, Kendall."

He shrugs and looks a little sheepish. "I was worried you didn't feel the same way about me. Boys get insecure too sometimes, you know?"

Camille sighs and wraps her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as they kiss again. 

They're interrupted by the other three boys' arrival, but Kendall still doesn't let go of her. 

When he breaks the kiss, he looks into her eyes and smiles a little. "So… does that mean I'm not allowed to seduce groupies when we're on tour?"

Camille gasps and slaps the back of his head. 

"Ow," he laughs. "I'm sorry, I was kidding. Dude. Why would I want to fuck groupies when I have all of this waiting for me at home?"

Camille blushes and gives him a little smile. "Well, good. Remember that."

She looks into his eyes and kisses him again, only drawing back when Gustavo arrives and clears his throat. "Time to go, boys. Lead dog, put the girl down. Now."

Kendall sighs heavily and rolls his eyes, but for once, he obeys. He keeps his hand on Camille, though, touching a curl and looking at her. "So this is it, I guess," he says softly while beside them, the other boys are already getting on the bus. Logan doesn't even seem upset, which is a huge relief for Camille. She wonders if Kendall's talked to him. "I'll see you when the tour is over, yeah?"

Camille nods. "I guess," she says, sighing heavily and wishing she had talked to Kendall about this sooner. They could've had a few amazing days together – but at least she can look forward to his return. Then, they probably wouldn't leave the bed for a week. 

Kendall leans in and gives her one last, gentle kiss before stepping back. "See you soon, Camille."

"Yeah, see you," she says softly, and sighs heavily as she watches him get on the bus. When he's inside, he presses his hand against the window and gives her a smile; then blows her a kiss. 

Camille's stomach flutters and she wishes she could go with the boys – but obviously, that's not possible. She has her own auditions to attend – and really, what would the Palmwoods turn into if she just up and left for a few weeks? It's a scary thought. 

The bus drives off, and Camille watches it until it disappears around the corner, sighing heavily. She already misses Kendall. 

Her boyfriend. Wow.


End file.
